TAMPA, Fla. — Luis Severino has to work on his tipping. The Yankees’ right-hander said that he is looking at videos and is willing to make changes if he was tipping his pitches last season, as many believe to be true.
“I am still not sure,” Severino said about tipping pitches. “I don’t know who it was, but someone sent me a video of (Red Sox center fielder) Jackie Bradley (Jr.) talking about fastball or stuff like that. I am looking forward to see and if I see something I will definitely change it.”
The video is from the second inning of Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium last October. With Brock Holt at bat, the camera shows Bradley calling “fastball” behind his glove just before Severino unleashed a 98-mile an hour fastball.
Before that, Severino had thrown five straight sliders in an at-bat to Steve Pearce and then did not throw another slider that night. That is sometimes a sign that a team is aware their pitcher is tipping.
Severino said he looked at tape this winter.
“I didn’t find nothing that consistent,” Severino said. “I will look with the Yankees and see what I can do.”
Severino also changed his workouts this offseason, looking for ways to eliminate the dramatic second-half slump he went through. In his first 18 starts, the righty pitched 1181/3 innings to a 1.98 ERA. He had a .195 batting average against, allowed just six home runs and averaged almost 10 strikeouts a game.
In an 11-start stretch at the end of the season, Severino pitched just 551/3 innings, going 4-5 with a 6.83 ERA with a surprising .323 batting average against. He allowed 13 homers in that span.
“It was tough, it was tough,” Severino said. “Like you said, I had a great first half and then all that happened. I know it’s just struggle for a little bit. I know the pitcher I am, I know I can come back. I know I can pitch well again.”
Besides possibly tipping his pitches, Severino felt that there was some fatigue in the second half.
“Of course I changed a little bit my workout, I think I maybe get a little bit tired towards the end,” Severino said.
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