Chris Sale's side-slinging ways give his four-seamer a unique advantage -- no one has more horizontal movement in the Pitch FX era: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/chris-sale-...er-great-pitch/

Chris Sale's side-slinging ways give his four-seamer a unique advantage -- no one has more horizontal movement in the Pitch FX era: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/chris-sale-...er-great-pitch/

This is why pitchers who throw the slider drop down as well. This gives it more of a different look than other breaking pitches. This is also why many people predict he will have significant elbow problems and have said this since he was drafted.

 

Anatomically and mechanically it makes sense. It's just that so far he has defied the odds.