Image credit: (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) Don’t you love watching a pitcher paint the corners of the strike zone? Below, we’ll be taking a look at a very successful big league starting pitcher who is a master with his brush strokes. Thanks to impressive command, his pitch plots are things of beauty. As […]
Image credit:
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Don’t you love watching a pitcher paint the corners of the strike zone?
Below, we’ll be taking a look at a very successful big league starting pitcher who is a master with his brush strokes. Thanks to impressive command, his pitch plots are things of beauty.
As a reminder, control for a pitcher refers to the ability to simply throw strikes. Command, however, is the pitcher’s ability to precisely locate a pitch in a specific location, such as up/down in the zone or on the corner. It’s an important distinction.
So, let’s take a look at some strike zone art provided by this mystery pitcher and see if you can guess who it is.
We’ll begin with his changeup pitch plot according to Baseball Savant. This is a Picasso. He throws his changeup most at the very bottom corner of the zone. He never misses in the middle of the zone. Time after time, he finds that corner:
And here’s his cutter. He wants this to be a weak-contact pitch. Again, I don’t know how a pitcher could command this pitch more consistently just off of the edge of the strike zone:
This righthander relies heavily on his knuckle curve, and his ability to locate it is precise. Many pitchers struggle to command a knuckle curve, but not this guy. It’s a pitch he can land in the bottom of the zone for a strike or below the zone for chases/weak contact:
And here’s how he throws it when he’s ahead in the count:
And here’s how he uses it when he’s behind in the count. It’s his best pitch, and one he can command to steal a strike or throw just below the zone to get an aggressive hitter to offer at it in a near un-driveable location:
We haven’t talked about his fastballs yet, but he has both a four-seamer and sinker.
With his four-seamer, he likes to run it away from lefthanded hitters (that red dot on the edge of the zone) and he likes to elevate with righthanded hitters to the very top of the zone. If there are some complaints here, you can see a little less command with this pitch, as he does have more blue all through the zone.
But again, the heat maps of where he locates it the most are right on the edges of the zone:
And here’s his sinker. He uses this pitch very differently against lefties and righties. Against lefthander hitters, he wants to come up and in. He does that well, while mixing in a sinker down and away on the very edge of the zone to keep them honest. He almost never ends up in the heart of the plate:
And against righthanded hitters, it’s a pitch he keeps down in the zone, working in and out, but almost always in the bottom third of the strike zone:
So, here we have a veteran righthander who hits his spots time after time. He paints on the corners and almost never finds the heart of the plate. From a command perspective, this is what you want to see.
His results, however, are a perfect example of how command needs to be matched with stuff, as these are the 2025 pitch plots belong to none other than Phillies righthander Aaron Nola.
Nola, 31 years old and a former all-star, currently has a 6.16 ERA this year. He has a 5.04 FIP. His expected ERA is 4.96. Nola has been a well below-average starting pitcher this year, and it’s hard to say he’s been unlucky.
So what’s wrong? Command without stuff is just a way to run up your pitch count. If you can’t miss bats, modern hitters are just too good. They will make you pay if you can’t get outs in the strike zone.
Nola’s average four-seam fastball velocity is 91.4 mph this year, which is down 1.1 mph from a year ago. His sinker averages 90.3, down 1.2 mph from last year’s 91.5 mph. Every single pitch he throws is down roughly 1-2 mph from where it was last year.
Even at his peak, Nola always thrived with, at-best, average velocity. In 2022 when he dominated, he did so with a 92.8 mph four-seamer and a 92.1 mph sinker. Nola has long been able to succeed with fringe-average stuff and exceptional pitchability.
But his struggles this year show what can happen when a pitcher used to operating with fine margins loses a tick of stuff.
Nola remains a well above-average strike thrower, as is 66% strike rate in 2025 is above the league average of 63.7%. And his command is well above-average, as the pitch plots demonstrate.
But the swings and misses are not there now. Nola has generally gotten a 20-24% whiff rate on his four-seam fastball. This year, it’s 14.2%. Batters are hitting .279/.326/.860 against his four-seamer. They are hitting .312/.450/.562 against his cutter.
On Wednesday, Nola gave up 12 hits and nine runs in 3.2 innings against the Cardinals. He gave up three home runs in 24 batters faced.
Here are the pitch locations for all the hits he gave up, per Synergy Sports tracking:
Nola can still avoid the middle of the zone. He rarely misses his spot. But he topped out at 93.0 mph with his hardest pitch. He threw 26 pitches 91-93 mph and 23 pitches softer than 80 mph.
Here are all the swings and misses he got in that game:
Of the six true swings and misses (not counting foul balls), five came out of the strike zone. Nola does not have the stuff to generate swings and misses inside the strike zone with his fastball. Of his 105 true swings and misses this year, only 28 have been in the strike zone. Nola is trying to survive when he’s ahead in the count, and if he’s behind or even, he’s getting rocked. When batters are ahead in the count, they hit .310/.500/.548 against him. In even counts, they are hitting .321/.329/.654.
“Command without stuff is batting practice” Spencer Strider said in an interview with Rob Friedman. Nola is currently an example of that in practice.
It’s hard to say that Nola can get much better in pitch location or even pitch selection. If he’s going to turn this around, it almost assuredly will be because he figures out how to throw harder.
Command is a key part of a successful big league pitcher, but even the best command from the savviest of starters has to be backed by stuff. And if you can only have one of the two, stuff without command gives you a chance.
As Nola is showing, command without stuff is a nearly impossible puzzle for even the best pitchers to solve.
Track is on its own at Washington State University — and in abridged form, too. The school has announced that field events will be eliminated from the program’s offerings, and that sprints and hurdles will be scaled back in favor of a “distance-focused approach.” “This change gives the WSU Track and Field program the best […]
Track is on its own at Washington State University — and in abridged form, too.
The school has announced that field events will be eliminated from the program’s offerings, and that sprints and hurdles will be scaled back in favor of a “distance-focused approach.”
“This change gives the WSU Track and Field program the best opportunity to remain competitive at the conference and national levels in distance events in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field,” read a statement issued by the school Monday afternoon.
WSU athletic director Anne McCoy and director of track and field and cross country Wayne Phipps refused to make themselves available Monday to provide details on the cuts to the program — historically, if not recently, one of the school’s most successful athletic endeavors. The two met with track and field athletes earlier in the day.
The terse, two-paragraph release said that any impacted athletes “will have their scholarships honored should they choose to remain at WSU.
“WSU understands the significant impact this decision has on Cougar student-athletes, coaches and fans.”
What it does is gut a program that’s responsible for one of two NCAA team championships won by the school — indoor track and field in 1977 and boxing in 1937.
It’s also the first announced cut to scholarship offerings — and possibly coaching staff — since 10 members of the Pac-12 departed in August 2024 and the conference television money for the remaining schools, WSU and Oregon State, took a massive hit. A reconstituted Pac-12 is in the process of negotiating a television deal to begin in the 2026-27 school year, with what will be a significantly reduced payout.
The school’s statement did not address how many track/cross country scholarships the school will offer in the future, how much in savings will be realized, whether other sports will face scholarship or roster hits and the status of assistant coaches.
Previously, NCAA schools were allowed to award track and field rides in the equivalent of 12.6 men and 18 women. Under the recent House vs. NCAA settlement, caps will only exist on roster size — 45 for each gender — and scholarships can be awarded to all, though how many will be dependent on a school’s financial muscle.
Sources indicated WSU track was already facing a scholarship reduction even before the Monday announcement.
The House settlement is expected to cut deeply into Olympic and non-revenue sports on campuses, as direct payments to athletes figure to come mostly in football and basketball.
For WSU’s 2025 season, field event athletes accounted for 31 of 89 roster spots, with sprinters and hurdlers another 18. Among the 30 Cougars who qualified for NCAA regional competition, there were nine distance runners, 10 sprinters and hurdlers and 11 field event athletes.
But before the breakup of the Pac-12, five of WSU’s last seven men’s champions and seven of the last eight women’s champs came from the field events. Twenty of the school’s 45 track Olympians have been jumpers, throwers and multi-event athletes.
The school’s track tradition has always been heavily invested in the distance races, beginning with the arrival of Spokane’s Gerry Lindgren on campus in 1964 and the eight NCAA championships he won. Coach John Chaplin’s Kenyan pipeline brought the likes of world record setter Henry Rono, Olympic gold medalist Julius Korir and multiple-medalist Bernard Lagat.
Phipps has revived that connection in the last few years, notably with Evans Kurui, who recently finished fifth in the NCAA 10,000 and won the West Coast Conference title last fall. Even so, the Cougars finished third in both WCC men’s and women’s races behind Portland and Gonzaga.
WSU’s last top-half finish in Pac-12 track — since the 2011 expansion — was in 2015 for women and 2009 for the men.
NewsUSA (NewsUSA) – Ready to turn up the fun and make unforgettable memories this summer? Plano, Texas is your go-to destination for summer adventures with family and friends. Whether you’re planning epic outings with the kids or lively nights out with your crew, Plano serves up the perfect blend of excitement and charm. Dive into […]
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– Ready to turn up the fun and make unforgettable memories this summer? Plano, Texas is your go-to destination for summer adventures with family and friends. Whether you’re planning epic outings with the kids or lively nights out with your crew, Plano serves up the perfect blend of excitement and charm. Dive into our top must-do activities this summer and discover why this North Texas hotspot should be at the top of your vacation list.
Make a Splash
The Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West’s third floor oasis includes a rooftop swimming pool + spa, with large, resort-style umbrellas along the perimeter. Complete with a bar and grill, it’s easy to lose track of time. Looking for more fun? Secure your space with a cabana rental. Available for reservations through Resort Pass or directly at the hotel, these cabanas allow you to stay shady all summer.
Swim across Texas at the historic Texas Pool, a 168,000 gallon saltwater pool shaped like the great State of Texas. It’s also a National Landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places! The pool is open Memorial Day to Labor Day and features a diving board, two water slides, and an island with a shallow “South Texas” wading area for small children and parents. Cook out on their BBQ grills or enjoy the snack bar. There are also picnic tables and a beach volleyball court. Visitor passes are available.
Stay cool this summer by visiting one of Plano’s indoor and outdoor pool locations: Carpenter Park Recreation Center (indoor), Jack Carter Pool (outdoor), Liberty Recreation Center (outdoor), Oak Point Recreation Center (indoor and outdoor), and Plano Aquatic Center (indoor pool and outdoor splash pad). Admission to the pools is included in Plano Recreation Center memberships. Non-members and guests can pay a minimal daily admission fee at each pool. Check individual rec center pages for hours of operation.
Hit the splash pad at Liberty Playground at Windhaven Meadows Park, Jack Carter Pool, and Plano Aquatic Center.
Catch Live Music
When it comes to finding live music in Plano, Legacy Hall knows how put on a show! All summer long they are throwing out all the tunes of all genres. From Taylor Swift to Queen, Legacy Hall has all the best tribute concerts covered this summer. Check out all their upcoming shows and events on their calendar.
Another music hotspot is McCall Plaza in the Downtown Plano Arts District. Enjoy free live music all summer long. Don’t miss out on all the fun in downtown Plano; check upcoming events on our event calendar listing.
The Plano Community Band is also bringing back their Mondays in the Park concert series at Haggard Park in the Downtown Plano Arts District on June 16, July 3 and July 14.
Celebrate July Fourth
Celebrate Independence Day in Plano with several patriotic events throughout the day. On July 4, swim across Texas at The Texas Pool and enjoy food, traditional pool games and legendary fun in the sun. Admission is $10 per person; veterans and active-duty military get in FREE with an ID.
Then, come out to Oak Point Park for Plano’s free All American 4th celebration. The event opens at 6pm with the Rotary Clubs of Plano parade and fireworks will begin at 9:30pm. Parking will be available at Collin College.
Shop Till You Drop
One thing is for sure when it comes to Plano, there are endless shopping options to experience. Dallas may be known as one of the top shopping destinations in the U.S., but just 20 miles north, you can continue the one-of-a-kind shopping adventure in Plano.
From Legacy West, The Shops at Legacy, The Shops at Willow Bend to the Downtown Plano Arts District and everywhere in between – Plano is brimming with shopping areas. Check out Plano’s shopping adventure here.
Don’t miss the new luxury shopping at Legacy West. The line-up of the best-of luxury retail includes: Gucci, CHANEL Beauty, Tiffany & Co., Tory Burch, Golden Goose, David Yurman, and Louis Vuitton.
Downtown Plano Arts District will celebrate the season at Summer Fest Market in the heart of Downtown Plano on June 22 from 11am-5pm. Enjoy a vibrant day of local shopping, live entertainment, and family fun.
Walk the boardwalk
Day or night, The Boardwalk at Granite Park makes for a special dining experience! Nestled in the middle of the Granite Park corporate business center sits a 30,000 square foot restaurant park called The Boardwalk. With restaurants of all types, a casual family-friendly atmosphere, entertainment, and an amazing waterfront view, The Boardwalk is the perfect place for a patio brunch date with friends, a fun family dinner, or a late night date spot. Grab a beverage from one of the restaurants on The Boardwalk and relax with friends on the waterfront!
Dodge the heat at Crayola Experience
Beat the heat at Plano’s most colorful attraction, the Crayola Experience at The Shops at Willow Bend, an amazing place where families can explore 22 hands-on attractions in a 60,000 square foot space that Parents Magazine calls one of the “Top 10 Trips to Take Before Your Kid Turns 10.”
Fly high at Go Ape
The first treetop adventure course in Texas is just minutes from the Downtown Plano Arts District at Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve. This vast area of natural beauty sits on 800 acres and features more than just a canopy tour. Go Ape includes five individual sections with rope ladders and 39 exciting crossings.
Fowl-On at Fowling Warehouse
Fowling is a unique and entertaining game that merges football with bowling, and in Plano at Fowling Warehouse, older kids and their parents can have a blast playing this new sport. It’s as easy as throwing a football at ten bowling pins until someone knocks them all down.
Have a Laugh
Enjoy a boutique comedy experience in Plano’s Legacy neighborhood. With a playful nod to Robin Hood, Mic Drop Comedy offers a vibrant, intimate setting where laughter and connection take center stage. Check out their upcoming shows and grab your tickets for an unforgettable night.
Be a Plano Foodie
Visit Plano has a FREE and limited-time foodie pass! Now through September 30, 2025, you can accumulate points just for checking in at participating restaurants and redeeming coupons, then you can cash in your points for “I’m a Plano Foodie” swag. But that’s not all! Be an over-achiever and check in at 20 restaurants to be automatically entered into the “Fit for a Foodie” sweepstakes for a chance to win ultimate foodie experiences. Sign up now and start your delicious journey! Sign up at visitplano.com/tasteofplano.
Check out a food tour too! Lone Star Food Tours provides an immersive journey through Downtown Plano’s food culture, offering visitors and locals alike a chance to taste their way through downtown’s eateries, while also learning about its history and culture.
Find more things to do and unique places to eat in Plano by exploring our website The Most Amazing Places to Visit in the City of Plano and blog.
Photo: LaPresse/Gian Mattia D’Alberto The women’s White Caps believe they have a golden opportunity to qualify New Zealand for the Olympic Games for the first time, thanks to an increased quota in women’s water polo. The New Zealand women’s water polo team narrowly missed out on Paris 2024, with just two goals the difference between […]
Photo: LaPresse/Gian Mattia D’Alberto
The women’s White Caps believe they have a golden opportunity to qualify New Zealand for the Olympic Games for the first time, thanks to an increased quota in women’s water polo.
The New Zealand women’s water polo team narrowly missed out on Paris 2024, with just two goals the difference between the team and Olympic qualification.
They’re now looking to make history as the team begins its campaign towards qualifying for LA 2028, where the Olympic quota for women’s water polo is set to increase from 10 teams to 12.
The women’s White Caps have been training in Auckland and are set to begin their Olympic Campaign at next month’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
Head coach and British Water Polo Olympian Angie Winstanley-Smith said the quota expansion was fantastic news.
“This is a game changer for women’s water polo in New Zealand and it will inspire not only our current squad members but also the next generation to keep pushing and keep believing,” said Winstanley-Smith.
“It’s a great moment for our sport and we’re working extremely hard to put ourselves in the best possible position to make it to LA 2028.”
Women’s water polo was only added to the Olympics in 2000, with men’s water polo on the programme since 1900.
Captain Jessica Milicich has been a squad member for nine years and said making the Olympics would be a dream come true.
“This is the start of a huge campaign for us. We’ve come so close before and that heartbreak has only made us stronger and more determined,” Milicich said.
“Making the Olympics would be the ultimate reward for all the work we’ve put in, and it would be a massive moment for the sport in New Zealand. We want to be the team that makes history and paves the way for future generations of girls coming into water polo.”
Milicich said the World Champs would serve as a key benchmark for the team as they begin their journey toward LA 2028.
“We’re under no illusions, we know qualifying for the Olympics is incredibly tough. But we’ve proven we belong at this level. This team has grit, skill, and belief and we’re going all in.”
The women’s White Caps begin their World Championships campaign against Italy on 11 July.
Juniors Allyria McBride and Falon Spearman competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from June 12-15. Both runners advanced out of the NCAA East First Round earlier this month, punching their ticket to the season finale with a shot at a national title. McBride had a fantastic showing in the 400-meter hurdles semifinal, […]
Juniors Allyria McBride and Falon Spearman competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from June 12-15. Both runners advanced out of the NCAA East First Round earlier this month, punching their ticket to the season finale with a shot at a national title.
McBride had a fantastic showing in the 400-meter hurdles semifinal, finishing in 56.25 seconds — good for second in her heat and an automatic qualification to the next round later in the week.
Spearman couldn’t quite advance to the 100-meter hurdles final, bowing out in the semifinals with a time of 13.46 seconds.
Three days later, McBride returned to the track and finished eighth in the 400-meter hurdles final with a time of 56.20 seconds, topping her semifinal mark. The finish earned her First Team All-American honors for the first time in her career. In 2023, McBride became the program’s first true freshman All-American since 1997 when she was a second-team selection in the 400-meter hurdles.
“Coming to this championship and having Allyria [McBride] become a First Team All-American in her third year in the program and second time at this meet means a lot,” Vanderbilt director of cross country and track and field Althea Thomas said. “It’s showing the growth of the program.”
Under Thomas, the Commodores have produced a program record eight First Team All-Americans.
“It shows consistency,” Thomas said. “In our sport, everyone thinks about who’s the fastest, who can jump the highest or throw the farthest, but our sport is really about consistency. It’s showing, not just consistency in one person, but consistency in the program. It’s showing what we’re building.”
Story Links PORTLAND, Ore. – UW Track fans suffering from a post-NCAAs hangover didn’t have to wait long, as the Portland Track Festival provided many more season’s-bests as well as another glimpse into the future. The meet was held Saturday and Sunday at Lewis & Clark College, with Huskies past, […]
PORTLAND, Ore. – UW Track fans suffering from a post-NCAAs hangover didn’t have to wait long, as the Portland Track Festival provided many more season’s-bests as well as another glimpse into the future. The meet was held Saturday and Sunday at Lewis & Clark College, with Huskies past, present, and future all impressing.
Several NCAA qualifiers who just missed out on reaching the finals headed to Portland to keep their seasons going. One of those Huskies, Kyle Reinheimer, was third overall on Sunday and lowered his 800-meters school record to 1:45.73. Graduated senior Justin O’Toole showed he’s getting back into his top form by running a PR of 1:46.29.
In the top section of the women’s 5,000-meters, incoming transfer Chloe Thomas clocked a time of 15:18.49 which would be well under the current UW school record. Thomas is joining the Dawgs from Uconn next season. The men’s 5k saw senior Acer Iverson drop a fast season’s-best 13:25.68.
But one of the big stories from the meet was the 11th- and 12th-place finishers in the fast 1,500-meter section. That’s where UW incoming freshmen Owen Powell and Josiah Tostenson finished, running the No. 2 and No. 3 high school 1,500-meter times in U.S. history. Powell ran 3:36.49 and Tostenson went 3:36.85. If run next season, those would be the third and fourth fastest times in UW history only behind multiple NCAA Champions Nathan Green and Joe Waskom.
Former Huskies Sam Ellis and Kieran Lumb also ran in the top heat, Ellis going 3:35.40 and Lumb running 3:36.37. In an earlier section, senior Rhys Hammond, still competing in his UW kit, took third in a big PR of 3:36.86 to go to No. 3 in school history. Seniors Ronan McMahon-Staggs and Leo Daschbach ran 3:40.61 (McMahon-Staggs) and 3:41.19 (Daschbach, a PR).
Freshman Nathan Neil, who has redshirted the season, ran a 3:41.32 and sophomore Will Schneider went 3:51.28.
In the women’s 1,500-meters, graduated senior Claire Yerby had a massive breakthrough, taking second in her section in 4:07.78, a five-second personal-best. Sam Tran also clocked a 4:26.84.
Josephine Welin raced herself to a 5,000-meters PR of 16:35.61. For the men, freshman Parker Mong ran the 5k, finishing in 14:40.56.
On Saturday, in the steeplechase, former Husky Aaron Ahl ran 8:31.98, and another alum, Julius Diehr, ran 8:40.37. Current sophomore Cruize Corvin broke nine minutes for the first time, going 8:55.20.
Viking Volleyball Featured in “Into a New Frontier” | News Dakota Posted By: ryanc June 16, 2025 @ 7:43 pm Sports VALLEY CITY, ND (NewsDakota.com) In this week’s edition of “Into a New Frontier”, Viking volleyball coach Michelle Meiklejohn talks about the challenge Viking volleyball faces in moving to the Frontier Conference, including […]
VALLEY CITY, ND (NewsDakota.com) In this week’s edition of “Into a New Frontier”, Viking volleyball coach Michelle Meiklejohn talks about the challenge Viking volleyball faces in moving to the Frontier Conference, including the competitive level of the conference, the travel schedule, and the unknowns.
Meiklejohn also talks about some new personnel, including replacing an All-American setter for this season.
You can watch below.
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