Yankee right-hander Ian Hamilton’s hybrid pitch the result of teenage tinkering

Aaron Boone created some confusion Monday when discussing Ian Hamilton’s arsenal.

The right-hander, who joined the Yankees’ roster and made his pinstriped debut Monday, throws a slider-circle change hybrid with a grip that resembles the latter. Boone and the team call the pitch a “slambio,” which required an explanation. It turns out the moniker stems from the Spanish word for “change,” which is “cambiar.”

Following his first appearance with the Yankees, when Hamilton allowed three hits but struck out two over 1.2 scoreless inning, the reliever said that he’s been throwing the pitch since high school. In a follow-up with the Daily News, Hamilton said that he used to practice the offering by throwing it at a tree in his backyard.

“If it was missing the tree, I knew it was decent,” Hamilton said.

A non-roster invitee, Hamilton used the pitch to twirl nine scoreless frames during spring training and crack the Yankees’ early-season roster.

Boone said the pitch shows characteristics of a slider and a change-up, which results in “unique action and movement.” However, the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber downplayed the pitch’s distinctiveness once released.

“It looks like a slider. It’s just the grip is change-up-like,” Schwarber, who struck out on the pitch Monday, told The News. “The action’s a slider. It’s a good pitch. It’s a hard slider.

“It’s interesting.”

Whatever the pitch is, the term “slambio” is relatively new. Hamilton said the Yankees’ Triple-A pitching coach, Graham Johnson, started using that nickname, and it caught on with the rest of the organization.

“I love that name,” Hamilton said, adding that he previously called it a change-up or slider. “I thought it was hilarious.”

Hamilton is happy that the Yankees are not messing with the pitch. He said his previous teams – he’s made stops with the White Sox, Twins and Guardians – all tried to tweak or abandon the weapon.

That never sat well with him.

“As soon as I showed the grip and everything, they’re like, ‘Blah, blah, blah. Let’s work on something else,’” Hamilton said. “They didn’t want to trust that I knew what to work on with it.

“Here, they just kind of said, ‘Keep throwing it.’ I like that.”

Indeed, the Yankees saw something unusual that could work to their advantage.

“We did embrace it as something different, unique,” Boone said. “Usually, when you have something unique, that makes it difficult to hit. So we liked it and leaned into it. Hopefully that’s something that’s given him a little bit more confidence, because he’s throwing the ball really well.”

Hamilton added that the Yankees’ willingness to let him do what he’s always done showed “respect” and “trust” from the club, which he appreciates.

With that and a clean bill of health – Hamilton’s 2019 included a shoulder-injuring auto accident and a surgery-inducing line drive to the face – Hamilton is hoping to make the most of his new opportunity.

He started his new chapter Monday, with his wife, parents and agent in attendance. Now he’s hoping his signature pitch prolongs his stay in New York.

“It definitely felt like a restart, like a redo almost, even though it’s not necessarily a redo,” Hamilton said of his Yankees debut. “But it’s just a second wind-type thing. It feels good.”

CLOCK IS CLICKING WITH BOONE

Asked what new rule he’s enjoyed the most, Boone quickly mentioned the pitch clock, which has already shaved considerable time off games.

“Guys have adjusted even quicker than I maybe anticipated,” the manager said before Monday’s game. “I think that’ll continue to get more and more seamless, to where it’s second nature for everyone. At what point in the season, I don’t know.”

Boone went on to say that the clock is good for baseball, and that he believes it will benefit players when it comes to rest.

“You add up the time off their feet, on the bus, in a hotel room, in bed, whatever it may be, you keep knocking off 20, 25, 30 minutes 162 times, that’s a lot of time that hopefully serves the players well,” Boone reasoned. “Not only over the course of the season, but over the course of the guy’s career.”

BLAZING HIS OWN PATH

The NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers signed G League forward Justin Minaya for the rest of the season on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Minaya is the son of Omar Minaya, the Yankees’ senior adviser to baseball operations. Minaya previously held the title of general manager with the Mets and Expos.

The younger Minaya has played well in the G League with the Mexico City Capitanes, averaging 17 points on 40% three-point shooting over his last 10 games. He also recorded 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.4 blocks over that stretch.