How to Throw a Curveball
The ability to throw a curveball adds to a pitcher's repertoire. This forces a hitter to look for another speed and keeps them from sitting on a fastball. Purpose of a Curveball A benefit of a good curveball is that it will change speed. Hitting is timing and pitching is disrupting timing. Anytime a pitcher can change speeds and force a hitter to stop sitting on a fastball, the pitcher has planted a seed in the hitters head that you need to be aware of more than one pitch, one speed. A curveball that can be thrown for a strike at any time in the count, eliminates the the likelihood that a hitter will cheat and sit on a fastball. Another aspect of a good curveball, is it’s ability to change direction. a baseball bat swung in the strike zone covers about 2&½ to 2&⅝”. A ball that can move straight down is a tougher pitch to hit than a fastball that stays on the same plane. How to Throw a Curveball There are many variations of how to grip a curveball, but there is one constant. The middle finger of pitching hand must rest on or along the long seam of the baseball. The thumb should be located on exact opposite seam. The reason for this is simple physics. A curveball will break when the air is displaced by four seams spinning. The seams will spin and the ball will rotate in that direction. A perfect curveball will break from 12-6 on a clock. The arm action of a curveball should start just like a fastball. The pitcher should think fastball as arm is back and begins to move forward. When the arm reaches the ear, the hand should turn so that the wrist is now facing the hitter. At this point, an emphasis should be placed on pulling down and imparting spin on the ball. Throw it, turn it, pull it are the thoughts a pitcher should have. There should be no twisting or turning of the wrist. The elbow pulls down, and that’s what starts the pull and spin of the ball. It’s important that the arm remains quick. There should be no slowing down in motion or arm speed that would indicate an off speed pitch is coming. When to Throw a Curveball? There are many good times to throw a curve. Ahead in the count is less stressful time because the pitcher can have more confidence due to the luxury of missing a location and not falling behind. The best time to throw a curve however is behind in the count. When a hitter is sitting dead red, a well placed curve can throw off their timing. As pitchers develop, then can begin to drop their curve wherever they want. With confidence in their catcher, they can throw it in the dirt with 2 strikes. Pitchers can also place it in the zone for a strike against aggressive fastball hitters. The bottom line is when a pitcher develops a curveball, he has begun to disrupt the most important thing in hitting; timing. It’s tougher to hit 2 more more speeds than 1. Please leave a comment, share or like this. Check back soon for more information regarding baseball, sports, and training.
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