What is Kodai Senga's ghost forkball? All you need to know about Mets sensation's devastating pitch

Kodai Senga, New York Mets' new acquisition's ghost forkball is making quite the buzz as the Japanese pitcher's showcase pitch made a brilliant debut in the MLB. The Mets won their game against the Miami Marlins 5-1 at the LoanDepot Park.

Kodai Senga was a professional in Japan's NPB for 11 years. He was highly successful as a pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and was part of their 'dynasty' that won seven Japan Series titles in the last decade. He's a 3x All-Star and won the Japanese Triple Crown in 2020. The 30-year-old signed a five-year contract with the Mets recently.

Apart from all the attraction focussed on international talent that Senga brings to the table, people have also taken note of his gameplay. The Japanese sensation's ghost forkball has been reported extensively in Spring Training.

The ball's naming comes from the way it disappears as it dives out of the zone. It's disappearance is attributed to it being a splitter but a forkball splitter, the slower version. Even though the popular term is forkball, Senga himself calls it an average splitter. This was covered on the MLB website in an article that read.

"Senga’s grip is almost identical to the splitter grip of teammate Carlos Carrasco, who calls his variation a split-changeup. But Senga stuffs the ghost deep enough into his right hand that, when combined with an appropriate release point, it tumbles with a flight path unfamiliar to Major League hitters."

MLB batters already terrified by Kodai Senga's variation

Batters in the league are finding it difficult to adapt to the ghost forkball as its uniqueness will take time to get accustomed too. Moreover, Kodai Senga is able to deliver the ghost forkball with consistency.

In the match against the Marlins, he pitched the variation 26 times out of his 36 pitches, getting seven strikeouts and giving away just a single run.