Here's the Wind...

As a kid, I used to do some mean baseball impressions. Glenn Hubbard's butt-out batting stance. Darryl Strawberry's upright, bat-wiggling approach. George Brett's weight-back await.

But it wasn't all offense. I loved to imitate my favorite pitchers as well. The Braves were my team, so I had Rick Mahler's neck-slap at the top of his wind-up, Zane Smith's inexplicable pause over his head and Gene Garber's look-back-at-centerfield submarine motion. For whatever reason, the variety of pitcher wind-ups fails to get the artistic attention it deserves. There are so many variations on the basic wind-up to make each one unique.

While watching Daisuke Matsuzaka's odd wind-up last night - pause...spin...kick - I was inspired to chronicle my favorite wind-ups in baseball history. Some of these I mastered as a child, some of these I'm no longer flexible enough to even attempt. So let's toe the rubber, get the sign and get to #10:

#10 Nolan Ryan - The perfect pitching wind-up. Every little league coach taught the Nolan Ryan wind-up. There were no unnecessary movements. It was powerful and compact. Ryan's leg drive produced much of his power, but his balance was also key to his dominance. This is the standard-bearer of wind-ups.

#9 Luis Tiant - I was not around for Tiant's career, but his wind-up is legendary. The former Indian and Red Sox looked like he was testing the strength of his ACL with each delivery as he twirled around toward centerfield with a whipping lower body action. Seriously, I think his career was ended when he knee snapped off like an old G.I. Joe toy, except without the mini-rubber band.

#8 Dontrelle Willis - The D-Train is the only current pitcher to make my list. His wind-up has personality unlike so many of today's pitchers. I think all the technology, pitching gurus, etc. have taken some of the fun out of pitching wind-ups. Most of today's aces use traditional, picture perfect form that is, frankly, boring. It is the same thing in basketball - everyone shoots the exact same way now. Will we ever see another Larry Bird-type shot? Bill Cartwright? Reggie Miller? I'm afraid golf is going the same route - no more Jim Furyks or Lee Trevinos.

Of the modern pitchers, the other guy I considered was Jake Peavy because I love how his off arm straightens out like he is opening a screen door before he throws the pitch.

# 7 Rick Sutcliffe - Okay, so this link is not to a Sutcliffe pitch, but it is endlessly entertaining. How on earth did the other broadcasters not realize that Sutty was tanked before they let him on the air? I might need to compile a list of drunken sports moments - Joe Namath, Rick Sutcliffe, Tony LaRussa, etc.

Back to a sober Sutcliffe, my favorite part of his delivery was his patented hiding of the ball behind his back. I have no idea how or why he did it, but Sutcliffe would tease the hitter to try to see the ball before finishing his overhand motion. My daughter would mistake it for a game of peek-a-boo. In fact, I bet Sutcliffe would yell "peek-a-boo" during meaningless September games at Wrigley. The kids probably loved it. I used to imitate it all the time - nobody else did anything like it at the time.

I also have a great Rick Sutcliffe story I heard years ago from Mark Grace on Dan Patrick's radio program. Sutcliffe was pitching in Cincinnati and getting lit up by the Reds. With each homerun, the folks at Riverfront Stadium set off fireworks to celebrate the shot. So Sutcliffe gives up a dinger & BOOM - fireworks fill the Cincinnati sky. The next batter - BOOM - more fireworks as another homerun leaves the park. Billy Connors made his way to the mound & Sutcliffe cut him off - "Get your fat ass out of here. I know I gave up two homeruns. I don't need your 'bleeping' help - I know what I'm doing." etc.

Connors calmly looked at Sutcliffe and replied, "I know you have things under control, Rick. I just wanted to give the fireworks guy time to reload."

#6 Dan Quisenberry - This is the closer section of the list. Closers are notoriously odd birds, so I could probably build a list exclusively around them. Remember Rob Nen's weird double foot tap delivery? Anyway, my first is Dan Quisenberry of the Kansas City Royals. I am a sucker for submariners for some reason - maybe because I always thought it might be my ticket to the majors if I could ever figure out how to do it. Same with the knuckleball. Back to Quisenberry - he was so violent and full-bodied in his delivery that he got most batters before he let the ball go. It is amazing he didn't rip his arm from his elbow over time, much like...

#5 Rob Dibble - Dibble came across his body with amazing power, but it always looked like he was one pitch away from ending his career. He added a tremendous leg motion that always helps make a good wind-up. Dibble's wind-up also seemed to mirror his volatile personality, much like...

#4 Mitch Williams - Wild Thing. We all used to imitate his falling over finish. Williams is best known for his terrible 1993 World Series, including giving up Joe Carter's homerun. I think that in coming years when people look back at Carter's historic shot, the first impression won't be about Joe's blow, but about why did that reliever fall over like that? Didn't he get hit in the head once after letting it go? Williams was like an outfielder trying to gun down a runner at home with every pitch he threw.

#3 Juan Marichal - The thing I really like about Marichal's super-high leg kick was that it propelled him to a Hall of Fame career. It even made the cover of Time magazine. His wind-up was not quirky for quirk's sake, but it helped generate his dominance. He even kept his left leg that high later in his career. How did Marichal avoid tipping backwards every once in a while?

There is a funny story about Marichal when he once hit an opposing catcher in the head with a baseball bat. Actually, that isn't so funny. Let's stick with the Sutcliffe one.

#2 Hideo Nomo - I love the wild wind-ups we get from the Far East & it all started with Nomo. His wind-up was so start-stop-start-stop that it seemed to take a good 10 seconds before he finally pitched the ball. I have always wondered what would have happened if Nomo just held the ball over his head and stopped his wind-up at that exaggerated pause. The batter could not call time because he was in his motion. I guess the umpire could call time if he held too long, but against someone like Gary Sheffield who depends so much on timing, this could have been an interesting strategy. Of course, Nomo also added the Sutcliffe peek-a-boo aspect to his wind-up. It was so wild and exciting as a kid that I mastered it within days. I still go to the Nomo wind-up whenever I want to add some spice to tossing Martha my keys or Abby her blanket. It also seems to annoy both of them.

And, drum roll please,

#1 Fernando Valenzuela - The wind-up that he learned from the Galapagos lizards or whatever Susan Sarandon told Nuke in Bull Durham. Fernando would have been lovable with an ordinary wind-up - he was a little overweight, kind of short compared to other pitchers, had a big friendly Mexican smile and could even pitch a little. Add his wind-up and you had a superstar. Fernando (nobody refers to him as Valenzuela) would look up at the sky (breathing through his eyelids) for a brief moment at the top of his wind-up before coming home with the pitch. It was so graceful and artistic. It was almost spiritual, as if he was looking to the gods before each fastball. It remains my favorite wind-up of all-time.

I am anxious to hear about other great ones I neglected. Step back, lift your arms, pivot to your side, raise your knee, dip your hands and fire away.