The Most Interesting Pitcher in the World: John Gant
- Apr 7, 2016
- 2 min read
The Man Himself
John Gant is a 6'5 205 lbs pitcher born in Savannah, Georgia. He attended Wiregrass Ranch HS (located in Wesley Chapel, FL), where he was drafted by the New York Mets in the 21st round of the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft.
Gant was previously committed to play for Long Island University before being drafted.
He would eventually sign with the Mets and made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Mets. Gant spent his 2012 season with the Kingsport Mets and pitched only one game for his birthplace's Savannah Sand Gnats. He played his 2013 season with the Brooklyn Cyclones and 2014 then went back to Savannah. Gant finally began his 2015 season with the Binghamton Mets as a starter.
On July 24, 2015, the Mets traded Gant and Rob Whalen to the Atlanta Braves for Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. He would be assigned to the Braves' Double A affiliate, the Mississippi Braves, where he went 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA in seven starts at Double-A Mississippi, with 43 strikeouts and 14 walks in 40 2/3 innings. After the season, the Braves added him to their 40-man roster.
In four Spring Training appearances, Gant has allowed six hits, one run and one walk with five strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings. This includes 2 2/3 scoreless innings of three hits last Friday against the Marlins.
Gant has been a starter during his entire minor league career, going 30-19 with a 3.24 ERA in 74 games (71 starts).
Sounds like a normal pitching prospect right? Wrong!
The Most Interesting Delivery
Video courtesy of FanGraphs
Gant has a very quirky delivery by most people's standards. Gant starts his delivery by taking one step forward with his left foot. Then he plants it on the right side of the mound. After that he rocks backwards, then he goes on take the same step forward before actually releasing the baseball.
Gant, 23, calls the extra motion that he does a “false step”. His reasoning is, “I don’t know what else to call it. That’s just what I do, man. I don’t know.”
He actually didn't realize how odd his delivery was until recently, in a recent interview:
"I started just doing it one day. I don't know where it came from, really. My catcher on one of my teams in the minor leagues imitated me, and I said 'I don't really do that, do I?' And he goes 'yeah, that's how you pitch.' I guess it's just grown a little bit since then. It feels right, so I do it."
His delivery has now turned into this:
Video courtesy of CUTE PENGUINS
Gant made his Major League debut on April 6, 2016, where he pitched a scoreless ninth against the Washington Nationals. He only gave up a single and struck out one batter. Nice start for the most interesting pitcher alive
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