Kodai Senga’s Ghost Fork is Easily One of the Coolest Pitches in MLB

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There are a lot of pitchers in Major League Baseball throwing some really nasty stuff these days and now, we can add another name to that list of guys: Kodai Senga.
The Mets’ 30-year-old rookie made his debut on Sunday and he picked up his first strike out with a pitch called a ghost fork. It was his best pitch during his Japanese baseball league years and now, it’s going to be a problem for lots of hitters in MLB.
Miami’s Yuli Gurriel had absolutely no chance on this pitch in the first inning of Sunday's game:
Kodai Senga, Ghost Fork. 👻🍴
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 2, 2023
Yuli Gurriel, Ghost Bat.
Senga's 1st Career MLB K. pic.twitter.com/e04s6rHFQR
Here's a cool overlay that shows you just how much movement that pitch has at the very end:
You don’t really appreciate it till you see the overlay… that’s impossible to hit https://t.co/Ww9Mi01Bxv
— ItsDJ (@PhotobombChamp) April 3, 2023
Here's another ghost fork later in the game:
Kodai Senga, Disgusting 85mph Ghost Fork. 🤮👻🍴
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 2, 2023
5th K thru 4 pic.twitter.com/yumuVGXaiu
Senga struck out eight batters and got the win after giving up just one run in 5 1/3 innings.
He also has a cool ghost on his glove:
KODAI SENGA GHOST FORK GLOVE ALERT
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 2, 2023
👻 🍴 pic.twitter.com/DscGTuqoYf
Fans had reactions to his ghost fork:
You know it’s a good pitch when a pitcher does this to Yuli Gurriel, who has a 6.7% swinging strike rate for his entire major league career. https://t.co/FsUZSuRuZd
— Astros Stats 📈 (@astro_numbers) April 2, 2023
can’t stop watching this. 916 spin rate, almost 400 rpm less than avg, with 33 inches of vbreak. looks hittable 99% of the way. that ball gets released middle. moves glove side. then arm side. then falls off. grossss https://t.co/PYSgkGg5fh
— VOGELBUCK (@metsarebest2) April 3, 2023
Kodai Senga recorded a 47.1 PutAway% on his ghost fork in his debut yesterday afternoon. #Mets https://t.co/MkVrnFr6aH
— Mathew Brownstein (@MBrownstein89) April 3, 2023

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.
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