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Pitch grips thread


MarkB

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Make me relive my past days of piching.

I never was a hard thrower, I was a junk man and pretty good at it.

My pitches:

4-Seam Fastball

Knucleball

Curve

Circle Change(Picked this up while watching Greg Maddux showing pitching grips)

Slider

Straight Change

I have two deliveries, Sidearm for the 4-Seam, Slider, Straight Change and Curve.

A Charles Nagy type Delivery for the 4-Seam, Knuckle & Circle Change, & Curve.

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Too many people don't knwo the proper way to release a curve ball and thats what hurts their arm. But a cuban forkball/knucklecurve gives the same effect without ANY strain

funny a curbeball is my natural throwing motion.

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  • 1 month later...

never have, my natural motion throwing sidearm is a curveball and I know how to throw it properly. Not one arm problem and I've been throwing it for 10 years.

Did I forget to mention I'm 26.

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  • 2 weeks later...

knuckle curve, my type of grip...

Hold the ball as if it were a 2-seam fastball...

Now get the index finger and slide it down under the left seam, and put your middle finger on the left seam and your ring on the right seam, with the pinky, under the "Rawlings" symbol. the index finger may take a while to get used to being under the ball, but it works...

Another way to look at it in case it was not so clear above, is a circle change grip, just with the index finger under the ball/seam.

Just throw it as you would with a fastball, just with that grip of course...

A sinker is refered to as the 2-seam most of the time, the splitter is better though, just move your fingers a bit off the seams.

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Lots of good tips I read. I didnt see any though pertaining to expanding the strike zone. Once you have consistency with your stuff and control, then you can take it to the next level by working the "4 corners". The more you can paint the black inside/outside, up/down, the more you can expand the strikezone and get those calls for strikes, while making the sweetspot on the bat feel smaller to the batter. A good catcher who knows how to frame the pitch can make a big difference too. You will get more calls too by consistently staying ahead in the count. Most Umps will give you more calls if you demonstrate you know how to work the plate and "pitch".

Changing speeds and good location is what pitching is about. The other is being able to read your batter and adjust accordingly. Of course, if you pitch against certain teams and players alot in your league, you get to know a players strengths and weaknesses. I would watch a guy take his practice swings before getting into the box. Sometimes he would give away what it is he was working on, his weakness. By watching a batters stride and shoulders, I could get a hint on if he was quick on an inside pitch or stayed closed for stuff away just by his natural mechanics.

Good batters had the ability to make adjustments pitch to pitch, so the fun being a pitcher was to stay one pitch ahead of him. Nothing like out thinking a good hitter and tying him up in knots! Pitching is not only knowing your stuff and being consistent with it but realizing your opponents tendencies too and the adjustments he might be trying to make. At the higher levels of ball, that's where the real fun is....in the mental game.

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  • 3 weeks later...

back on to the subject of the curve, my HS coach says that a better curve is thrown with less pressure, like the lighter oyu throw it, the more break it has. He should know, he was signed by the Phillies, and made it into AA ball, being able to throw literally every pitch. :eek:

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Here's how to grip the knuckle curve

That knucklecurve is still thrown like a regular curve, thus it still puts pressure on your elbow. A better version(more break, no arm problems) takes your index and middle fingers and bends them. Put those bent fingers on the horseshoe with the closed side facing up. Throw like a fastball.

back on to the subject of the curve, my HS coach says that a better curve is thrown with less pressure, like the lighter oyu throw it, the more break it has. He should know, he was signed by the Phillies, and made it into AA ball, being able to throw literally every pitch.

HS coaches rarely know anything. You can put lots of break on the ball or "pressure" and still not throw it hard. Making it to AA isnt really a super big acomplishment. I know former pros that dont know jack about pitching.

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  • 1 month later...

HFLR, watch any TV broadcast that shows Tim Wakefield pitching. He's so slow, you'll be able to pick up the grip normally, and if they do a close up of his hand, even better.

Thanks for the help Mark, Ill turn to the Red Sox games.

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  • 4 months later...

I can throw a curve now that is wicked sharp, but I am eratic. One will buckle your knees the next will fly over the backstop.

throwing a slider is the hardest. When I tork my forarm, i get great movement on it but it hurts. So when I lay off the hard snap, the ball looks like a cutter and flys fast. The practice I was told in high school was to keep going over and over with it until you develop a rythym. Like a habbit where you dont even notice you are pitching the ball the same way every time. This way you get your mechanics set to where its not even a thought. I still get some pain when i throw though. After like 40 tosses my arm is soar like I just worked out my shoulder and forarms.

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I have improved on my pitching over this last year, I have these pitches going from best to worst

Splitter

Cutter

4Seam

Slider

Curve

And I was once reading a sports illustrated mag a few months ago, and inside, it showed how Barry Zito grips/throws his curve. It' on of the best in baseball,,and I was wondering if someone can pm me a copy of that article. Possibly scan it for me. Thanks!

my 4 seam has speed, but no accuracy. While by brother was at my house once, he wanted to see me fastball, and I nearly beamed him in the head!

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