When Adam Cimber took the Houston mound back in April 2018, he was walking in the footsteps of a legend. It was just the sixth appearance of his big league career, and Cimber was already toeing the same rubber as one of the greats.
Plenty of guys grow up idolizing Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Pedro Martinez, or some other MVP candidate. But one of Cimber’s heroes was the man that pitched the clean half-inning before him, then-Astros reliever and fellow sidearmer, Joe Smith.
"I can't believe I'm pitching on the same mound as Joe Smith," Cimber said to himself. "I've been watching this guy forever."
Cimber has now played against and met several sidewinders he grew up watching, including Darron O'Day, Steve Cishek, and Brad Ziegler. It was Ziegler's low delivery that Cimber initially mimicked to make his high school baseball team when he was 14, and it's carried him all the way to the big leagues. Now five years into his MLB career, Cimber is a permanent fixture alongside his idols in that sidearm sect and submarine brotherhood.
“Those guys are still my heroes,” Cimber said.
When Cimber was traded from San Diego to Cleveland halfway through his rookie season it brought him even closer to Smith. Outfielder Michael Brantley, then with Cleveland, is one of Smith's closest friends in baseball, and was happy to put the two relievers in touch when Cimber had a few questions for the vet.
Smith's been in the same position, so he was happy to share. Back when he was a Mets' third-round pick climbing the minors in 2006, Smith got to meet Chad Bradford, excitedly prying the ear of the veteran mound-scraper. Even in Smith's 15th season, he's got questions for Darron O'Day whenever the pair play in the same city.
When Smith wanted to learn about O'Day's four-seam fastball and the carry he gets on his primary pitch, the latter was happy to send videos breaking down his mechanics, grip, and approach. With MLB's recent enactment of a three-batter minimum, Smith didn’t know if sidearmers were destined to die, but now the conversations between the submarine subsection have helped keep the careers alive. They often center around how to approach some of the better left-handers in baseball and Cimber, of late, has been particularly adept at shutting down southpaws.
While every sidearmer's release point and plan of attack is unique, Cimber's makeup is pretty close to Smith's, the latter said. Just a few days before Smith visited Toronto in early June Cimber was breaking down video of a Smith outing, trying to pick up on his plan of attack and if it matched what Cimber would do in the same spots. One difference between Smith and Toronto's sidewinder is velocity. In his age 38 season, Smith's sitting a few miles per hour slower than 15 years ago, closer to the low-80s heat Chad Bradford was throwing back when Smith debuted.
“Adam’s still got his velocity," Smith said. "He’s in his sweet spot. He’s rolling.”
While minor-league coverage is more rigorous than ever, Smith's not monitoring farm systems waiting for the next sidearmer to debut. It's not too common for a minor league sidewinder to crack a top prospects list or get much coverage anyway, he said.
“I’ll just be in some city and say ‘oh look, another underhander, let’s see what he’s got,” Smith said.
Cimber knows of a few guys on the come-up. Eric Yardley, who pitched in the Padres system with Cimber in 2018, just signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays, attempting to return to MLB after stints with Milwaukee and San Diego. He also chatted with Spanish lefty Marc Civit a few times during Dunedin Spring Training, as the Jays recently dropped the 20-year-old's arm slot to a sidearm delivery.
While Ziegler is retired and O'Day and Smith both close in on 40, Cimber, Tyler Rogers, and some others have things covered in the big leagues. The door's always open for more to join, too, because three batter rule or not, the sidearm brotherhood isn't breaking up any time soon.
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