Former Padres Prospect Taught His Career-Changing Pitch to Team's New Starter
From Padres draft pick to Cy Young winner, Corey Kluber, mentored Michael King, refining his slider, and igniting King's career as a starter.
Baseball is a small world.
Corey Kluber was drafted by the San Diego Padres out of college in 2007. The right-hander rose the organizational ranks until he was traded in July 2010 in the deal that brought Ryan Ludwick to San Diego. Kluber debuted with Cleveland in 2011.
Flash forward a decade. By then a two-time Cy Young Award winner, Kluber taught his younger Yankees teammate Michael King his “sweeper” — a version of the traditional slider with more horizontal movement. The pitch changed King’s career, allowing him to flourish as a converted starter late last season.
King was part of the Padres' return in the December trade that sent Juan Soto to New York and he has brought the pitch to San Diego in hopes of boosting the Padres' 2024 rotation. In an interview with Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com, King praised Kluber for allowing his career to evolve:
“I was really trying to develop a slider, because I felt like it would complement all the movement I have arm-side with my sinker. I tried [Adam] Ottavino’s slider and I couldn’t do it. I tried Gerrit [Cole]’s slider and I couldn’t do it. I was really messing around with a bunch of stuff. It wasn’t until Kluber taught me his in ‘21, and it was [called] the 'Kluber Ball' but now it's the sweeper. Everybody's got it now, but at the time Kluber was one of the only ones [who threw it]. ... The cues that he gave me and the grip that he gave me just made sense.”
King has appeared in two games with the Padres this season, starting one, and is 1-0 on the year with a 6.14 ERA. He has been able to dodge traffic and limit damage which is huge for the back-end of the rotation.