yahoo
Jacob Misiorowski, the Milwaukee Brewers' breakout star and presumptive NL Cy Young Award winner, has seen his profile skyrocket in 2026. As the baseball world learns more about the triple-digit fastball pitcher, his deep passion for Pokemon has also come to light. Misiorowski's bathroom is a shrine to the franchise, featuring a wall of Pokemon cards, a neon Pikachu, a Lugia bath mat, and other memorabilia. He also collects cards and even pulled a holographic Charizard during the season, a card that can fetch thousands of dollars if properly graded.
Given his status as a Pokemon superfan, a moment during Thursday's media session stood out as particularly awkward. While discussing his upcoming World Series Game 1 start, Misiorowski was asked what kind of Pokemon energy he would bring into Friday's game. His response: 'Definitely the flame energy. Going to bring what's Charizard's signature move? I think it's fireball. Going to bring some fireball. I'll be ready.' MLB, eager to promote its presumptive NL Cy Young winner on the sport's biggest stage, quickly amplified the quote.
Pokemon enthusiasts immediately noticed the mistake. Fireball is not Charizard's signature move—in fact, no such move exists in the Pokemon universe. There is a Fireball theme deck in the card game, a G-Max move called G-Max Fireball learned by a different Pokemon, and a Dark Charizard card that uses the move Continuous Fireball, but none of these qualify as a signature move. The Charizard card Misiorowski owns clearly lists Fire Spin, and while the Pokemon learns many other fire-type moves in the video games, none are called Fireball. Even the term 'flame energy' is slightly off; Misiorowski likely meant Fire Energy, which Charizard cards use abundantly.
Key Analysis
Does this gaffe matter? Not really. Misiorowski may have simply had a mental lapse the day before the biggest start of his life. It should not be taken as serious criticism. Still, it is odd for someone who decorates his home with Pokemon regalia to get such a basic detail wrong. Nevertheless, Misiorowski's choice of typing is fitting: no pitcher in MLB has a stronger claim to the label 'flamethrower' (which, incidentally, is another move Charizard can learn). The 6-foot-7 right-hander throws the hardest fastball ever seen from a starting pitcher and dominated hitters all season. On Friday, the Brewers will send him to the mound against a Tampa Bay Rays team that swings and misses less than any other in MLB.
Originally reported by yahoo.