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These links are all great baseball sites.
But remember your way back to learningbaseball.com
PopUp Quiz with Quips 'n' Quotes from this site.
Below is a link for my convenience, but you're
welcome to visit, of course:
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| | There are all kinds of pitches, with many different
names. There are also better sources of this information than this
website. The pitches and methods for throwing them are illustrated here as
an easy reference for leaningbaseball.
It should be remembered above all else that no one
under the age of 14 should ever think of throwing anything but a fastball.
There are two reasons for this. One, you need thousands of repetitions
using good mechanics to train the neuro-muscular network of your body to
properly perform
the task of pitching. Secondly, if a child starts adding the stress these
other pitches deliver to the arm before the growth plates in the elbow are fully
developed, he or she will likely cause permanent damage to this area, and will
consequently never be able to throw them. So, if your don't wait,
you won't learn to throw anything.
Below is a list of pitches with photos and
descriptions for: Fastball - Change-up
- Curve - Sinker - Slider
- Splitter - Knuckleball.
But in reality there is just fast, slower, and movement pitches.
Fastball
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Two-seam fastball
Your first two fingers lay on the narrow
part of the seams, with your thumb, the third point in the triangle, also
on the seam below. The wrist basically goes straight through in a
downward motion, always with a follow-through. You want the ball to
have a backspin caused by your two fingers rolling off the seam on
release. Your thumb is the last in your line of mechanics to control
the direction of the pitch. Don't underestimate it and overlook
it. With the curves of the seam turning straight, the ball should
drop sooner than a four-seam. Remember, the lower the arm action,
the more the ball moves.
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Four-seam fastball
We say 2-seam and 4-seam, but actually
baseballs only have one seam. It's the 4 loops or curves that gives
us the expression. With the curves of the four-seam turning on the
outside of the ball, it should lift and thereby be faster. Remember
there's more speed up, and more movement down. Whether you are
right-handed or left-handed, your middle finger (the longest) should be on
the wider side of the curve. The grip itself, with your fingers
across more turns of the seam, will be stronger, and that should result in
increased speed.
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Change-ups
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Palm or circle change
The palm, or circle, change gets it's name
from the grip and the resulting difference in speed. It's called the
palm change because the ball sits all the way back in the palm. It's
called the circle change because of the ok circle made by the thumb and
index finger. It's called a change because, although it's thrown
with the same mechanics and speed as the fastball, it should move a few
miles an hour slower. There are many different versions of a
changeup pitch. You are encouraged to experiment to find what works
for you.
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Curve
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Curveball A
curveball is supposed to fool the batter into swinging where there is no
ball. The ball is supposed to move out of the way of the bat.
There's nothing more picturesque for the pitcher and his fans to see a
batter who is waiting for the curveball fall flat on her face when
she misses it. With the ball griped as illustrated, the wrist makes
a J-turn on the delivery, resulting in a palm-up follow-through. |
Sinker
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Sinker The
sinker is essentially a curveball that moves down as it reaches the
plate. There is more rotation put on the ball because the thumb also
flips the seam up on release. There is more pressure on the wrist
with a sinker than there is with a typical curveball. |
Slider
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Football slider There
are many sliders and cut-fastballs that are supposed to miss the bat, and
the football slider seems the easiest to master. The grip is
essentially the same as a curveball, but the release is different.
It should be thrown like a football by the hand, but with the full
baseball motion of the rest of the body. There are several
variations to the release, but the one illustrated gets results and is
easy on the arm. |
Splitter
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Forkball/Splitter The
forkball is not a splitter, but it is very similar. The grip shown
is a splitter grip; the forkball would have the narrow part of the seam
between the fingers. This is the kind of pitch that often stays in a
pitcher's practice arsenal for years before ever making an appearance in a
game. It's difficult to throw with control and confidence, and
it's rewards are marginal. That is, until it is developed.
This is the kind of pitch a strike-out pitcher needs in his arsenal to fan
the good hitters that either catch up to his fastball or are using the curveball
for batting practice. |
Knuckleball
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Knuckler 1 Most
pitching coaches will tell you that knuckleballs are for
knuckleheads. This may be true of those pitchers that use a
knuckleball just to use it. But if a pitcher takes the time to
develop this pitch to use in games, he will see why hitters shy away from
even swinging at it. The pitch is delivered by flicking the fingers
forward, and the ball comes to the batter with little or no rotation. |
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Knuckler 2 So
if knuckleballs are for knuckleheads, why do we have two. Two
knuckleheads are better than one? Well, as you can see, there are
two different grips. This is the one I prefer, but my son likes the
one above. I use it in playing catch, including throwing high pops
(try it; it's weird to catch too), and he uses it while pitching.
Still, usually in practice, and rarely in a game.
The
definitive knuckleball site. |
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