Tanner Bibee season. Despite throwing a team-high 154 2/3 innings, the Cleveland Guardians had an ERA of 4.77 ERA and 4.69 FIP on the right hand, as well as a career-low strikeout. His first two seasons in the past two seasons – he threw 315 2/3 innings with a strikeout rate of 3.25 ERA, 3.54 FIP and 25.3% strikeout rate. Obviously something is wrong.
Bibe thinks he knows what the problem is. How to correct yourself in the matter this season. The timeline is less than a month left, and the Guardians are still hopeful for October baseball – their playoff odds are weak but not impossible, 4.6% – and Bibe waits until winter to be right. So he worked hard at a bullpen meeting in Fenway Park on Wednesday afternoon, and since then he went to great lengths to get back to his best.
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David Laurila: We had a conversation a few days after your major league debut (April 2023). How do you compare to the pitcher at that time?
Tanner Bibee: “Something in terms of it?”
Laurila: thing. How do you handle the game? You are two years old and probably smarter now.
Bibe: “It doesn’t always mean better. In the major leagues, it’s been an interesting first few years. Obviously, I’ve had a lot of success in 2023. Last year I had some success after a tough month or two. This year is definitely…I’ve gone through different sports modes. In 23 years, I brought a very high position and slowly lowered it.”
Laurila: Purpose or organic?
Bibe: “Intentionally. I’ve been like 6’2″ to 6’4”. That’s the honey hole, starting with the release of height. So when I came in, it was really tall. I was chasing track and field hands, but then I kind of thought about something and moved it back and kind of back to myself.
“And then, last year, I tried to figure out how to get the four-slit back to where I was. I did something to make some band-aids and while it didn’t really make my fastball better, it did create some unique angles and similar angles. This year I was a little bit in between and my moves weren’t that good. Basically, I tried to go back to August 20 in July.
Laurila: It sounds like it’s more than just your release height or arm slot. This is the whole delivery…
Bibe: “Oh yes. Our big fans, ‘the body affects the ball, and thus the result.’ I was actually watching it this morning, trying to dig deep into my body, trying to figure out it – trying to see with my own eyes – what happened.”
Laurila: Is this a movie?
Bibe: “Yes, looking at the open view of the pitcher, third base. The depth of my standing on the hind legs is just rising. I think that affects it because it’s not a lot different like my arm slot. The height is higher. It’s just because my body is generally higher.
Laurila: I’m trying to entangle my own explanation. When you are at your best in 2023, is the release height higher?
Bibe: “So, my arm angle is higher, but my center of mass is lower. When I do it well, the release height is still 6’3″, 6’4”. But, I…I…I actually checked on the Statcast (arm angle thing) this morning. My first year, I was 59, 59. [degrees]I was 51 years old last year, and now I am 54 years old. This was one of the things that had higher centers in my Mass last year, but I had lower arm angles so it could be offset. My shoulders started to hurt badly, so I thought, “Okay, I need to get it back to something more natural.” But then my mass center was higher and I raised the release height, which changed the angle of everything. ”
Laurila: How did your stuff get affected?
Bibe: “I threw fastballs from 12 to 20 this year [inches of vertical ride]. I usually sit in the 13-14 range, and in 2023 I am mostly 16 years old. These four inches are really great for the batsman, especially per inch (per centimeter), which is the difference between strikeouts or foul balls. My body also went too far and rushed too far. I didn’t get into my hind legs. It’s super basic, but super difficult. I want to find the honey hole for this. ”
Laurila: Have you lost your spin efficiency and maybe more cutting rides than ideally?
Bibe: “I’ve always been a cyclist. If you look back, it might be like 16 [vertical] and three, four or five [horizontal]. Now, whenever I wear one side of the gloves, I get 16-17 and 4. But when I stretched out my arms…I mean, on the last outing, I got about 13-10. That’s not good. ”
Laurila: What about your speed and commands?
Bibe: “Average level [velocity] Not too much impact, but the highest is. In 2023, and even last year, I touched 97, 98, 99 once or twice [in a game] Very regularly. This year, it’s a lot 94-95, a few 96, or even 93 seconds. My overall average may have dropped a bit, but it’s not bad.
“I feel like I’ve figured out how to direct the ball with the stuff numbers. I just don’t have that much room for error. For example, when he throws the heater, he has more room for error because his stuff numbers, the angles he creates, are much better than mine. For me, making my fastball better.
Laurila: What about your secondary?
Bibe: “Not that much. I think the only difference is that the strikeout numbers are a bit lower because they don’t have to respect the heater. Partition me (hit my batsman to me – they don’t have to respect the heater as they used to.
“Like I said, my center of mass has been a lot higher, raising the height, which visually makes the ball look flatter — and in a bad way. If I can get my center of mass lower, I can almost… instead of like a carousel, I can pull my arm through like a Ferris wheel, but be lower to the ground so it looks like it has that… not like a Bryan Woo up-shoot, but closer to that up-shoot.”
Laurila: Basically, you are trying to fix the delivery during the season…
Bibe: “Yes, it’s not fun. It’s hard. Even so, I don’t think I’m very bad. But for me, it’s been a tough, transition year. At this point, I just want to stay healthy and start all the starts.
