The heavy ball: some hurlers' offerings are described as being a different sort of pitch, often due to the ball's late-breaking movement

Baseball Digest, Dec, 2004 by Norman L. Macht

Elrod Hendricks: Gene Brabender.

Rick Dempsey: Mike Flanagan

Sammy Snider, who has caught hundreds of pitchers in his 25 years as the Orioles bullpen catcher: Mike Timlin, Jason Grimsley.

Reds bench coach, former Yankees catcher Jerry Narron: Goose Gossage

--"Not a sinker, but heavy heat."

AJ. Pierzynski: Jason Schmidt, Jim Brower.

Jason LaRue: Reds closer Danny Graves.

Javy Lopez: Atlanta reliever Kevin Gryboski.

The heavy ball experience is not confined to the major leagues. Adam Melhuse first heard the term in AAA in 1997. "I'm catching a veteran pitcher and he's not throwing as hard as some of the other pitchers, but he's pounding my hand like they never did. I asked somebody about it and was told, 'Yeah, he throws a heavy ball.' It sounds strange. It's the same ball, but it feels, well, heavy is the best way to describe it."

Bob Geren first heard the term "light ball" in AA in the 1980s. "We had a young pitcher from the Dominican. The manager told me he threw 100 miles an hour but it'll be a light ball. I didn't know what that meant. But he was right. Like a lot of light ball pitchers, he gave up a ton of home runs, but he was easy to catch."

Mike Scioscia recalled Roy Campanella talking about pitchers who threw a heavy ball. But the terminology goes back much further. Jack Lapp, catcher-for the Philadelphia Athletics 1910-1914 three-time world champions, said Chief Bender "threw a ball that was so light it felt almost like a tennis ball, while Jack Coombs was like catching a brick."

Hitters have their own nominees for bowling ball pitchers, whose deliveries reverberate through their arms and bodies when they make contact. Most often mentioned are Kevin Brown and Brandon Webb. Others, past and present:

Mike Scioscia: Kent Tekulve.

Adam Dunn: Brad Penny,

Sean Casey: Zach Day and Kevin Gryboski

Javy Lopez: Tim Hudson

Chris Chambliss: Jim Bibby

Mark Grace: John Franco.

Rafael Palmeiro: Mariano Rivera, not because he throws a sinker. "His cutter is like hitting a steel ball," the left-handed batting Palmeiro said. Others likened Rivera's cutter to a "buzz saw" coming in to a lefty swinger.

Barry Larkin took a slow, thoughtful approach to the question before answering. At first he couldn't think of any pitchers during his stellar 19 years with the Reds who had given him that bowling ball effect. Told that Mark Grace had singled out John Franco, he said, "Not to me."

What about Brad Penny?

"Now that you mention him, I agree. He throws a cut fastball that not only breaks in but down."

Larkin didn't think the pitcher alone was the cause of the heavy ball feeling. "It's a combination of the hitter--where he makes contact--and the pitcher. A sinker is harder to get just the right contact on the sweet spot. I'm a contact hitter, not a big swinger.

"Mark Mulder threw me a splitter on June 7 that broke my bat. I hit it on the end of the bat. I went back to the bench and said, 'That was a heavy pitch.' The other guys scoffed. 'Mulder?' they said in disbelief. But that, to me, was a heavy pitch."