Carter Capps Works to Adjust Delivery

After being assessed with two illegal pitches on Sunday, Carter Capps is already working on adjustments with both El Paso Chihuahua pitching coaches, Bronswell Patrick and Akinori Otsuka.

When asked if the organization would be in touch with Major League Baseball to get their official position on Sunday’s rulings, Patrick confirmed that would be happening today.

Capps was not using a hop as part of his delivery when throwing off a mound prior to Monday’s game.

He was dragging his toe, and there was no daylight between his toe and the mound. The delivery is significantly more conservative than the deliveries showcased in the Fangraphs article asserting his delivery was illegal.

To be fair, the delivery they covered in that article certainly looks like it should be illegal. Especially the 2015 footage where he hops a quarter of the way down the mound.

Going through the rule book though, I failed to find exactly what rule he would have been breaking in 2015. The more you dig, the more you find no one actually quotes a rule.

Plenty of articles have been written about Carter Capps’ illegal delivery, but they basically seem to say it’s illegal because it looks illegal. Major League Baseball did make a change in 2017 which does seem to address the delivery.

Because the only way to truly appreciate Carter Capps' delivery is in slow motion 😳 #PadresST https://t.co/uLZHfWlThr

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) February 15, 2017

But if you watch the pitches that were deemed illegal against Albuquerque recently, I think you’d have trouble making the case that Capps took “a second step toward home plate”. (Skip to 0:38)

2/3 Barajas ejected pic.twitter.com/TKis6UqdFe

— John (@Friar_Faithful) June 26, 2017

Pitching coach Bronswell Patrick said that the team just wants to know if Capps is doing the right thing, but when asked specifically where in the rule book the violation being called was, Patrick laughed and said he had no idea. He emphasized that that’s what they’re hoping the league will clarify and that Capps just wants to know what the league wants so he can do the right thing. It’s clear that both the organization and Capps are frustrated with the lack of clarity. First the hop+drag was entirely ok. Then the direction of the drag and the height of the hop became points of friction. Now it appears certain MiLB umpires are trying to ensure there is no hop at all, or something. Funny thing is, if Fangraphs has it right, the interpretation of the rule that will stand is that his funky delivery that started all the controversy in 2015 will be deemed legal after all.

Andy Green: Padres will continue to correspond w/MLB re:Carter Capps' delivery. Their current understanding is the hop-drag remains legal.

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) March 2, 2017

One last note. If you don’t believe that Capps is serious about dragging his toe, just look at his cleats.

Eric Killian

I’m Eric. I’m a lifetime baseball fan, recreational fantasy baseball player and serious baseball collector. Unlike most of the team, it’s my love of collecting that got me into prospecting. I just moved to El Paso, home of the San Diego Padres Triple-A club, the El Paso Chihuahuas. I was able to watch a few Padres prospects in the Arizona Fall League this November. Beyond that I hadn’t seen Padres minor league baseball since 2007. The San Antonio Missions had just become affiliated with the Padres and the team was named the Baseball America Minor League Team of the Year. They had guys like Will Venable, Chase Headley, Wade LeBlanc, Dirk Hayhurst, Nick Hundley, and the everlasting Chad Huffman. I say “everlasting” because Huffman is still in the minors battling for a job and will attend spring training with the Cardinals this year.

I’m in the Army which is what brought me to El Paso. I’m originally from Texas and at heart I’m a Reds fan, but my situation makes it much more sensible for me to cover the Padres. I have a girlfriend, two cats and about a million baseball cards and books. Moving to a city with a AAA baseball team is very exciting and I plan on attending several games throughout the season. I’m on Twitter at @USKillian.