WATCH: White Sox ace Dylan Cease recites self-written poem "O' Slider Slide"
Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease recently appeared on the MLB Network to recite a self-written poem regarding one of the pitches. Cease's slider is one of the most deadly pitches in his arsenal, and he used it 38.6%, bettered only by his 43.2% usage of fastball in the 2023 season, per Baseball Savant.
In a clip posted by the official MLB handle on X, Cease disclosed that the poem was just in his mind while he was in the shower and listening to piano music. The next thing he did he wrote down the poem.
"It was Slider Slide," Cease said. "Honestly, I was just in the shower and I was listening to piano music. It just happened in my mind, so I ended up writing it down. That year the slider was the best pitch in baseball."
"My slider. Oh slider slide, oh slider slide, past the batsman I send my slider to hide. Oh slider slide, oh slider slide, past the batsman I send that round cow hide."
"I don't remember past that," he added. "I haven't seen it read it in probably a year. It was good though. Every line, if you break down every line, it really is like applicable to the slider."
Dylan Cease stayed with the White Sox despite trade rumors
Dylan Cease was widely rumored to be traded away by the White Sox after last season. However, it seems Cease is going to stay put for this year. Earlier this offseason, the ace and the club avoided arbitration and settled on an $8 million salary for the 2024 season.
When Cease was asked about the trade rumors, he said,
"It seemed like I was going to get traded, but here we are. That's why I try not to get too caught up in it until something happens. I wasn't overly concerned or paranoid about anything. I was focusing on getting my body ready. Wherever I was going to be sent to was second to that."
Dylan Cease's ERA shot up to 4.58 in 2023 from 2022's 2.20 mark. However, he's still one of the top arms in the league and is expected to acquire considerable interest near the trade deadline.
He still has two more years under team control before he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the end of the 2025 season.