White Sox pitcher Credit: Chicago Sports Network
By Arthur Weinstein on

Rob Friedman’s “Pitching Ninja” social media account is a must-follow for Major League Baseball fans. Friedman, who doubles as Fox Sports and Peacock’s MLB analyst, breaks down pitching analytics with data and fascinating overlays showing pitchers’ release points, the movement on their pitches, and more.

Pitching Ninja has hundreds of thousands of followers on several social media platforms, including X, Instagram, and YouTube, and many MLB media and players swear by the account.

During Tuesday night’s Pittsburgh Pirates game against the Tampa Bay Rays, AT&T SportsNet field reporter Hannah Mears talked about Bucs reliever Justin Lawrence’s love for the account.

“Earlier this week, the social media personality known as Pitching Ninja rated one of Justin Lawrence’s sweepers from the Miami series as one of his top five nastiest pitches of the day,” Mears said. “Justin Lawrence told me that it’s always good and kind of a running joke that if you make it on Pitching Ninja, that means you had a good outing. He said in (2023) he was on there a good bit, last year not too much, and that’s sort of been the gauge for him on whether or not he’s having a successful year.”

“I’m glad you pointed that out,” play-by-play announcer Joe Block said. “That’s a fun account to follow. Because you get to see the greatness of pitching highlighted there. I think my favorite all-time by a Pirate was when Jared Jones struck out … Brice Turang and made him fall down.”

Apologies to Turang for showing here how Pitching Ninja depicted that embarrassing moment Block mentioned:

So the Pirates’ broadcasters love Pitching Ninja. Over on the Chicago Sports Network, however, White Sox play-by-play announcer John Schriffen wasn’t feeling the love after reporter Brooke Fletcher pointed out the account’s popularity with players.

“This has become a real popular thing, a lot of guys turn to it, just to experiment and try new things with their pitches,” Fletcher said.

“Pitching Ninja is a real thing and has become very popular, but if that’s how you want to find some info, go for it,”  Schriffen said dismissively. “It won’t be my source.”


As they say, any publicity is good publicity, and Friedman reposted comments from the White Sox broadcast, concluding, “Appreciate it. LOL.”

About Arthur Weinstein

Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.

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