"A sword, as defined by Rob 'Pitching Ninja' Friedman and quantified by Statcast, is when a pitcher fools a hitter so badly that he forces a non-competitive swing, one where a batter either regrets his choice or can't stop himself from taking a hack that looks so ugly it ends up going viral on social media."
"The sweeper crossed the plate with a horizontal value of 3.23 feet, meaning that when Ohtani's pitch crossed the plate, it, well, didn't: It was about 2.52 feet, or two feet and six inches, off the plate entirely."
"So far this year, 94 pitches have been thrown with a horizontal value of greater than or equal to 3.0 feet. Only one of those pitches resulted in a swing: the one Altuve flapped at."
A sword in baseball is defined as a swing that results in a non-competitive attempt by a batter. José Altuve's swing against Shohei Ohtani's pitch was not classified as a sword due to its quality, despite being far off the plate. The pitch crossed the plate at a horizontal value of 3.23 feet, significantly outside the strike zone. Altuve's swing was the only one recorded this year on a pitch with such a horizontal value, highlighting its unusual nature.
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