What in the name of Hideo Nomo is this all about?
After venturing to the Boston Red Sox minor league camp this week, ESPN’s Keith Law has introduced us to the newest and strangest pre-pitch routine in all of baseball.
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It belongs to Roniel Raudes, a 19-year-old right-hander from Nicaragua, and it might make your head spin if you stay focused on his glove.

Ronnie Raudes: delivery or dance move?
A post shared by Keith Law (@mrkeithlaw) on Mar 29, 2017 at 11:02am PDT
In addition to strange, it’s also a touch dramatic, wouldn’t you say?
We’ll assume this mechanism is designed to give Raudes some degree of rhythm or comfort on the hill. Like a batter trying a new stance or adding a bat wiggle to his routine, it’s all about experimenting to get into that proper zone. Perhaps this is Raudes’ zone.
Red Sox prospect Roniel Raudes is hoping to bring his unusual routine to the big leagues. (Greenville Drive) If it’s strictly designed to distract the batter, then he’s going to need to a wacky windup and delivery to go with it. Granted, it might take batters a pitch or two to get used to it. After hitters get used to it though, it would be nothing but wasted motion.
With that in mind, Raudes’ around-the-world routine is certainly creative. Still, it’s not nearly as fun as Hideo Nomo’s old Tornado wind up, and there’s no real controversy here, unlike Carter Capps’ unorthodox delivery. But we do hope it works out for Raudes, because baseball can always another quirky pitching routine.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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