Yu Darvish Quotes

The key to pitching is to have the ability to throw a strike when they're taking and throw a ball when the hitter is swinging.

I could probably throw harder if I wanted, but why? When they're in a jam, a lot of pitchers...try to throw harder. Me, I try to locate better.

I kind of realized I couldn't blow the ball by everybody. In high school I could do that, but now it's not going to work. I need to pitch.'

Greg Maddux is probably the best pitcher in all of baseball along with Roger Clemens. He's much more intelligent than I am because he doesn't have a 95 or 98 mph fastball. I would tell any pitcher who wants to be successful to watch him, because he's the true definition of a pitcher.

Home plate is 17 inches wide, but I ignore the middle 12 inches. I pitch to the two-and-a-half inches on each side.

The reason I think I'm a good pitcher is I locate my fastball and I change speeds. Period. That's what you do to pitch. That's what pitchers have to do to win games.

When you can throw 97 miles an hour and put the ball over the plate anytime you want, it's fun.

Later, I could take something off my slider and I could make my fastball sink, so I really had four pitches.

A guy that throws what he intends to throw, that's the definition of a good pitcher.

Getting my curveball back and finding another pitch just helped me figure out how to pitch.

The big thing will be having two pitches you can throw for strikes and developing a change-up, too.

When I played, I didn't have the strongest arm, and in a game, I never threw it as hard as I could, either.

At the end of the day, all we're trying to do is get the hitter off balance. Get him in a position where he's not strong in the strike zone.

That's when I'm at my best. When I can throw a fastball over in the count, just throw strikes both in and away, it just sets up all my stuff.

When you're spinning a two-seam, getting on the side of the ball to get more run or sink can be good, but it can really be detrimental to your four-seam.

You worry about how you're throwing the ball, how you're executing your pitches.

I've got power. I don't throw hard every time. I just throw shots.

I don't think I have accuracy problems. I do think when my feet aren't set, I deliver a different type of ball.

The key to my accuracy is making sure my feet are set right and trying to have a more polished throwing motion, a more polished stroke, you can say. When my feet are right, my hips are allowed to open a little better, which is kind of where your accuracy comes from.

I'm a power guy. Good fastball. A knuckle curve, which I can throw for strikes. A changeup which sinks down and away from lefties and I can also throw for strikes.

Hitters are too big, too strong, and their bats are too quick. I have to go inside to have success.

It (the slider) just rolls off of your index finger and begins it's spin which will take it down and across the plate (hopefully). Just remember not to twist your elbow or wrist. It should be thrown, with the wrist and grip set, just like your fastball, slightly off center - with the same velocity and intensity.

My pitching philosophy is simple. I believe in getting the ball over the plate and not walking a lot of men.

I use high velocity to keep hitters off balance.

The curve and the fast one are important; the change of pace and the other trick deliveries are great but they're not worth a plugged nickel unless you have control to go along with them. And by control I don't mean the ability to put the ball over the plate somewhere between the shoulders and knees. I mean the ability to hit a three-inch target nine times out of ten, the sort of control that lets you put the ball in the exact spot you want it, and to play a corner to the split fraction of an inch.