Home > Sport > MLB

Tyler Glasnow ‘tipping pitches’: What does the term mean and was it the downfall of Tampa Bay?

By
11th October 2019 1:26 PM ET
Was Tyler Glasnow tipping pitches against Houston? Pic credit: MLB/YouTube

Was Tyler Glasnow tipping his pitches in last night’s winner-take-all Game 5 ALDS against the Houston Astros? Glasnow admitted he may have been, however, Rays manager Kevin Cash doesn’t want to hear anything on the subject.

Tipping pitches no excuse for Cash

Tampa Bay skipper Kevin Cash said after the game that he gives the Houston Astros credit for hitting the ball hard and making plays. As for tipping pitches, he simply said that his team was outplayed, period.

“I’m aware there was speculation about pitch tipping…At the end of the day, give the guys the credit that went up to the plate,” Cash said following the Rays 6-1 defeat.

The Astros wasted no time getting to Glasnow as they posted a 4-spot in the very first inning.

The hard-throwing right-hander said after the game that he believes that he was tipping his pitches, and after watching some of the game film confirmed it in his mind.

“I went back and looked, and it was pretty obvious,” Glasnow said after the Game 5 defeat. “As far as the tips go.”

What “tipping pitches” means

So, what does “tipping your pitches” exactly mean? Well, it is kind of like having a bad tell at the game of poker.

Pitchers are creatures of habit, and when a team faces them a lot they pick up on his ways. Thus, a pitcher could be giving inadvertent signals to the hitters concerning what kind of pitch he’s about to throw, and that is how where the term “tipping or telegraphing his pitches” comes from.

Glasnow has been one of the Rays’ most impressive pitchers this season – making the way the Astros cranked out one hit after another on Thursday even more perplexing for Rays fans.

Sure, it could have been that Glasnow was off his game and the Astros were ready, but even the MLB experts at FOX believe that Glasnow was showing his cards before they were dealt.

Commentators Alex Rodriguez,  David Ortiz, and Frank Thomas all agreed that after watching the tape, Houston knew what pitch was coming more than 90-percent of the time.

To solidify their reasoning, the former All-Star trio pointed out how the Astros players took more time after getting on base or scoring a run to tell the next hitter what they thought to possibly look for.

Whether Glasnow was tipping his pitches or not, the bottom line for the Rays and their fans is they almost slayed Goliath, but almost isn’t good enough.

Now, like the other 26 teams not playing playoff baseball,  they are finished until next spring.