Josh Beckett, throughout his entire decade in the majors, has been a fastball pitcher, bringing the heat on at least 60 percent of pitches each season. That changed in 2010, with the number dipping all the way to below 40 percent.
Throughout his career, Beckett's best pitch had been his fastball, with his curveball and change-up also being relatively effective. His cutter, on the other hand, was his worst pitch. In 2010, that profile had reversed 180 degrees, with his cutter suddenly becoming his only above-average option, and he began throwing it far more often.
On Friday night, things were back to normal, with his cutter again being his only below-average pitch, as it was almost always made contact with (cutters break five inches up and one over on the plot). Fastballs, on the other hand, were most effective. While he gave up very little on his slower pitches, he went to them only 20 out of 98 times.
Still, Beckett threw a lot of balls out of the zone. This is a part of a general trend toward nibbling that he has made throughout his career. This strategy, however, seems to be working.
Since his first seasons with Florida, Beckett has induced more out-of-the-zone swings almost every subsequent year and has likewise received more called strikes as hitters expect him to throw balls.
He has done this while managing to not really increase his number of pitches per at bat, 3.82 when his career average is 3.78 (MLB average is 3.76). He also has decreased his walks at the same time, from about four per nine innings to about two in recent years. As a result, his K/BB ratio has improved even as his strikeout numbers have declined slightly as he has lost velocity (which is barely true). Additionally, his WHIP held steady at under 1.2 from 2007-2009 despite increases in BaBIP (batting avg. on balls in play) that is now above .300, the league standard.
Josh Beckett's velocity was about 1 mph below his career average Friday night, but that can likely be attributed to getting back in the swing of things. Even if it seems like the entire Mariners lineup other than Ichiro Suzuki hits .215, Beckett's start last night looked a lot like 2009 vintage.
The fastball was working, and if he can avoid further back issues, he has the body type that will allow him to keep bringing the heat into his 30s, which seems to be the likely outlook.
We'll know more in coming starts as he faces more legitimate hitters, but Friday night was a legitimately good sign. 2009 Josh Beckett went 17-6 and was an All-Star. It'd be nice to have that guy for years to come.
