Cracking the code

Lance McCullers, Jr., was seemingly tipping his pitches in Game 3 of the World Series, and the Phillies capitalized.

Nov 2, 2022

Bryce Harper called over Alec Bohm to tell him something. Both hitters went deep in their first at-bats in Game 3.

Bryce Harper saw something.

A clue. A tell.

The Phillies slugger smashed the first pitch he saw from Houston's Lance McCullers, Jr. into the right field seats to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.

My book Playing Through the Pain: Ken Caminiti and the Steroids Confession That Changed Baseball Forever is available wherever books are sold.

Soon after, Harper was seen calling back teammate Alec Bohm from the on-deck circle to tell him something.

MLB @MLB

Bryce Harper called Alec Bohm back before his at-bat to tell him something. Bohm hit the first pitch he saw out of the park. #WorldSeries

It's not typically a time for friendly chit-chat — unless Harper had details to share about the pitcher's delivery.

F.P. Santangelo @FightinHydrant

Bryce Harper just called Alec Bohm back to the dugout and he had to tell him that McCullers is tipping his pitches and what to look for. That’s literally the only thing that he could have said to him in that situation…#WorldSeries

Jake Diekman @JakeDiekman

Harper was calling Bohm over on the on deck circle, wonder if he’s tipping pitches 🤔

Bohm proceeded to go yard himself as Philadelphia, deciphering McCullers' pitches, built a commanding Game 3 lead. Brandon Marsh, Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins also went deep for the Phillies.

Steve Johnson (@LegKickNationOG on Twitter) analyzed McCullers' pitch-tipping and broke down the differences in his delivery based on the pitch.

Steve Johnson @LegKickNationOG

Players look for anything — the pitcher's grip of the ball, holding his glove differently, a change in leg kick — for an advantage.

It doesn't always work out!

Ken Caminiti prided himself on picking up hall of famer Randy Johnson tipping his pitches, but it never seemed to help him much. The Big Unit was that good.

He also picked up a tipped pitch in an at-bat against Kevin Jarvis, and ended up hitting Jarvis hard, an at-bat that Caminiti recalled years later after he crossed paths with Jarvis.

"Did you play for the Rockies three years ago?" Ken asked Jarvis, his agent Rick Licht recalled to the LA Times.

Yeah, Jarvis said.

"Well," Ken told him, "Back then, you were tipping your curveball."

But that pitch-tipping didn't happen in Game 3 of the World Series, with so much hanging in the balance.

Good Stuff

Cracking the code

Lance McCullers, Jr., was seemingly tipping his pitches in Game 3 of the World Series, and the Phillies capitalized.