David Lennon: Yankees closer David Bednar's splitter a nod to Japanese legend Hideo Nomo

DUNEDIN, Fla. — The David Bednar splitter, as the pitch is labeled by those who have borrowed the grip, didn’t start out that way.

It was the Hideo Nomo splitter first, since Bednar learned the technique from the Japanese legend during his developmental years in the Padres organization. Nomo was a special assistant with San Diego, and that fateful introduction wound up shaping Bednar’s career as a closer, adding a nasty low 90s swing-and-miss pitch to complement his 98-mph fastball and high-70s curve.

“It’s a little bit of a unique grip,” Bednar said Tuesday. “I use more of the seams on the splitter, which I found is not quite as traditional. (Nomo’s) hands are probably a little bigger — I don’t have enormous hands. But I really like it because I can still think about being aggressive, like a fastball down, then just let the grip do the work and trust it.”

But the lineage of the Bednar, or Nomo, splitter doesn’t end there. Fast forward to Bednar’s elevation to one of the game’s elite closers with the Pirates, where he worked Justin Meccage, who was Pittsburgh’s bullpen coach through 2024. Meccage then went to the Brewers’ organization, and became the Triple-A pitching coach for the Nashville Sounds, passing Bednar’s splitter to the Mets’ Tobias Myers, who was acquired from Milwaukee along with Freddy Peralta last month (Meccage was hired to be the Giants pitching coach this offseason).

Myers, now being groomed as starter by the Mets this spring, credits the splitter with last season’s breakout, when he posted a 2.64 ERA over his final 16 appearances, including 23 strikeouts over 30 2/3 innings. Opponents batted just .108 against that pitch with a 39.4% whiff rate.

“The splitter has helped tremendously,” Myers said. “Not like it’s a crazy pitch alone. It’s just that I can execute that pitch a lot better than I can the previous changeup I was throwing. If I can go out there and use it consistently, throw it whenever I want, in any count — righty, lefty — I think that opens up a lot of doors for me.”

When told Tuesday of Myers’ success with his borrowed splitter, Bednar smiled.

“That’s cool to kind of pass it forward,” he said.

Bednar had a similar revelation in those early sessions with Nomo. He also struggled with throwing a changeup, like Myers mentioned, and being introduced to the Nomo splitter flicked a switch for him.

“It clicked right away,” Bednar said, “because it’s one of those grip-it-and-rip-it type deals. It was a little more nuanced than that, but when I first started to get a feel for it, you just rip it to the bottom and let it work. That pitch really helped me get to the big leagues for sure.”

Last season, Bednar had a 31.1% whiff rate — which ranked in MLB’s 89th percentile — and the splitter came in at 36.2%. His revival in Pittsburgh was impeccably timed with the Yankees’ own desperate need for bullpen help at last season’s July 31 trade deadline, so the deal was a no-brainer. With the sinking Devin Williams (5.01 ERA) nearly unrecognizable from the previously dominant version in Milwaukee, manager Aaron Boone was craving a stabilizing force for the relief corps, and figured Bednar to be a quick fix.

Still, the transition from tiny-market Pittsburgh to the big house in the Bronx is a tall ask. Williams didn’t adjust well coming from his Midwest outpost, but Bednar already had survived a gut punch earlier in the season: a stunning 18-day demotion to Triple-A Indianapolis. Upon his return, Bednar posted a 1.70 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 37 innings over 39 games, paving his way to a pennant race with the Yankees.

That’s a lot to absorb in a half-season. But Bednar’s makeup — affable in the clubhouse, beast mode on the mound — seemed to be a perfect fit (almost) from the jump. He blew the save in his Yankees’ debut but staked his claim to the permanent closer’s job by rebounding for a five-out save two appearances later, throwing 42 pitches and striking out five to end the team’s five-game losing streak. At that point, Bednar’s bulldog mentality had won over his new club.

“I love him,” Boone said. “He’s just such a solid guy. He’s real easy-going, easy to talk to, good dude, but has that competitive fire between the lines. Give me the ball. No real ego to it — just what do you need? Let’s go.

“I think more and more, he’ll become a leader down there, too. Just by the way he does things. Good work habits. Pro. I’m hoping he’s a leader now that he’s here and he’s the guy.”

He’s definitely the guy at the back end of the bullpen. Bednar finished the season 7-for-7 in saves chances with a 1.17 ERA over his last 14 appearances, essentially nailing down the closer’s gig. Better yet, Boone describes him as “low-maintenance” — a manager’s highest-compliment for a reliever — as Bednar has appeared unfazed parachuting into the Bronx.

“Coming over last year, it’s like drinking out of a fire hose,” Bednar said of getting acclimated to a new team midseason. “Now you have a better grasp of the clubhouse, getting to know everybody more, and you can start from the beginning of the year.

“Obviously there’s a lot more noise here, sure. But it’s a privilege to put the pinstripes on and what an awesome opportunity. I love every second of it.”

With a nod to Nomo, and maybe a wink to Myers across town in Flushing.