Strengths and Weaknesses
Stieb entered the league primarily as a power pitcher, relying on a high, inside fastball to strike batters out. The brushback pitch was an integral part of his repertoire to back batters off the plate, and was especially tough on right-handed hitters in this respect. As a result, he led the league in hit batsmen a few years. But arguably his best pitch was his slider that had a late and very sharp break - especially difficult for right-handed batters to handle.
Later on in his career he developed his breaking ball repertoire, and he became very effective with a "dead fish" curveball that would break into the dirt as the batter swung.
Stieb had a high-strung personality and was known as a fierce competitor on the mound; he was regularly seen having animated conversations with himself during pitches when in difficult situations. Whereas with other pitchers this would be seen as a sign of weakness, with Stieb it was rather the best way to motivate himself to get out of a jam.
Read more about this topic: Dave Stieb
Famous quotes containing the words strengths and/or weaknesses:
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