The curveball is dying in Major League Baseball, with just 8.1 percent of all pitches thrown in the style last year, down from 10.7 percent in 2019. All told, that translates to 22,962 fewer curveballs thrown in 2024 compared to five years ago. For some teams — the Athletics among them — the curveball has all but disappeared, accounting for just 2.5 percent of pitches this season. They are the slowest pitches — averaging just 80.2 miles per hour — but tend to be loopier, and the style these days is fast balls. While there were only 214 pitches over 100 miles per hour in 2008, this season we’re on track to reach 3,252.
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