Seattle Sports Insider

POTD Blake Beavan's Clubhouse Imitation of Doug Fister

I am a wild and crrrrazy guy, Dept.

Posted by

3/18/13

Q. From the club that brought you Felix and Vargas doing the Bedard-O-Tron ... now we get Blake Fister?

A. This goes way, way beyond Beavan taking "inspiration" from Fister. Blake Beavan is rolling a clubhouse comedy routine out there on the mound.

Here's a video. Beavan:

Does his rock step in sharp, mechanical fashion
Rocks forward with hands tight into the belt buckle, keeping levers stiff and board-like
Rocks backward in the awkward, Fister-like "bobbing thermometer bird" motion
Kicks the knee comically high
Rocks the shoulders back to the CF
Sweeps the glove out at the batter in Doogie fashion
STEPS WAYYY FORWARD IN A LUNGE MOTION
Comes over the top with the pitch

I thoroughly enjoyed the parody. Especially that reach forward with the front foot. It's not often you see somebody make a conscious attempt to move more awkwardly.

Q. Dr. D approves or disapproves?

A. 95% of the time he would roll his eyes and move on. Next subject. This, gentlemen, goes into the 5%, as did Felix' imitation of Erikkkk's motion.

Blake Beavan had exactly two things going for him:

Plus-plus command of a fastball
Makeup

He made a conscious decision to reinvent everything else. We're simply speechless at the specificity of Beavan's strategy.

This is like Brian Bannister living on Fangraphs and re-inventing his approach per the Pitch Type Values. It's like what you or I would do with Beavan's starting point. All of a sudden I, personally, can IDENTIFY with Blake Beavan. This is kind of what I would think about attempting with his starting point -- except he's doing it with an actual big-dollars sports career at stake.

Q. Is he going to be able to reproduce Doug Fister's game?

A. He is not going to be able to do that, no; he doesn't have Fister's levers, angles, or Fister's natural changeup. But he is certainly going to be able to change his own game, and probably for the better ...

Comments

Remember this isn't the first time Beavan has changed his motion

The Rangers made him change it when he was a teen and throwing 95, because they were terrified of his arm being ripped off like a turkey leg at a Thanksgiving filled with rabid children. He went from
He is familiar with what it takes to rework his motion COMPLETELY if necessary. So his experiment may be more fruitful than some others might be with it. Much like Cal Ripken changing his batting stance and swing mechanics a dozen times - once you know how to do it and how your body responds, it's probably easier to do it again.
We'll find out.
~G

That raises an interesting point

I wonder what allows Beavan to make such radical changes so easily? An unusual level of coordination and body control? If so, odd for him to be imitating a giraffe :- )
Nice catch G.