Tunneling
Throwing different pitches with a similar trajectory to fool hitters
Example
Lopez is doing an excellent job at tunneling to fool the hitters tonight
Yeah, he's caused a lot of swings and misses
Related Slang
Ace | Best starting pitcher |
Backdoor slider | A pitch that breaks over the plate |
Cutter | A breaking fastball |
Sweeper | A breaking ball that sweeps horizontally |
Uncle Charlie | Curve ball |
Heater | Fastball |
Brushback | Pitch that almost hits the hitter |
Chin music | Pitch that nearly hits the batter's head |
SP | Starting pitcher |
RP | Relief pitcher |
In baseball, tunneling is when a pitcher attempts to throw pitches with similar trajectories to make different pitches appear the same (even though they break differently) to fool the hitter. The name comes from the idea that before the pitches start to break, they pass through a narrow "tunnel" to appear the same.
For example, a pitcher may be able to throw a curveball, slider, and sweeper. When pitching, he throws the different pitches through the imaginary tunnel, making it hard for the batter to distinguish how it will break and hit the ball.