Seam shifted wake (researched by Dr. Barton Smith) describes the effect that seams have on pitch movement. Based on the way certain pitchers grip their pitches, the seams will cause more or less air to flow off of ball and causes the spin axis to shift. That ultimately leads to varying movement by the time it crosses the plate. This is important for deception because hitters think they know how a certain pitch will move, and then it moves differently, making it much harder for them to make quality contact. While seams have always had an impact on movement, new technology allows teams and players to understand which grips can maximize this effect and cause increased pitch movement.
The video in this article talks about Blue Jays’ pitcher Alek Manoah, and further explains how seam shifted wake can be a possible explanation for the way his sinker moves.
Here is a video of Manoah’s sinker for reference:
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