Okay, girlfriend. I’m writing this current entry more for me than for you. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve asked The Boyfriend, “What the difference between a breaking ball and a slider?" "What’s a changeup?" "What the heck is a knuckleball and why does everybody roll their eyes when someone throws it?"
I readily admit, I usually have to wait until the announcers call it. But as you learn baseball, it’s good to know different pitches have different purposes. So for fun, let’s see if we can grasp (no pun intended!) the basics throws.
A couple things determine a pitch: how the pitcher holds the ball, the spin he puts on it when he releases, and how fast he throws it. Those elements determine the path it takes to the plate. A baseball truly is a gorgeous thing: smooth ivory leather encircled with a graceful continuous seam of 108 perky red stitches in an hourglass formation. Using this seam, the pitcher changes his grip on the ball to control the ball’s spin. That contributes to both the speed and the path of the ball. Using a strong kick as he turns his body, the pitcher can add even more speed to the throw.
Uh oh! My eyes are beginning to glaze over. The intricate physics of throwing a baseball are fascinating, but to be honest, I do not find it the most exciting part of baseball. But fear not, my little bag of caramel popcorn. All you need to know to enjoy the game is that the pitcher is not just throwing a ball across the plate, he is pitching. That means he will intentionally throw the ball a certain way because he wants to get a certain result. Pitchers can do incredible and amazing things with a baseball to make it harder to hit. (If the science behind throwing a baseball intrigues you and you want to learn more, go to Fastball, slider, change-up, curveball—an analysis )
Fast balls are the Cadillac of a pitcher’s repertoire. A great fastball pitcher can throw those cannonballs right by some of the best hitters and leave them shaking their heads in disbelief. But Major League starting pitchers can’t only throw fast balls, no matter how loaded with speed. Batters will have the pitcher figured out in a heartbeat, and he won’t stay in the Major Leagues very long. The pitcher has to mix it up to keep the batter guessing and throw something at the batter he has a hard time hitting. Batters don’t only watch the ball. They also watch the pitcher’s arm and wrist action to determine what the pitch is going to be.
I readily admit, I usually have to wait until the announcers call it. But as you learn baseball, it’s good to know different pitches have different purposes. So for fun, let’s see if we can grasp (no pun intended!) the basics throws.
A couple things determine a pitch: how the pitcher holds the ball, the spin he puts on it when he releases, and how fast he throws it. Those elements determine the path it takes to the plate. A baseball truly is a gorgeous thing: smooth ivory leather encircled with a graceful continuous seam of 108 perky red stitches in an hourglass formation. Using this seam, the pitcher changes his grip on the ball to control the ball’s spin. That contributes to both the speed and the path of the ball. Using a strong kick as he turns his body, the pitcher can add even more speed to the throw.
Uh oh! My eyes are beginning to glaze over. The intricate physics of throwing a baseball are fascinating, but to be honest, I do not find it the most exciting part of baseball. But fear not, my little bag of caramel popcorn. All you need to know to enjoy the game is that the pitcher is not just throwing a ball across the plate, he is pitching. That means he will intentionally throw the ball a certain way because he wants to get a certain result. Pitchers can do incredible and amazing things with a baseball to make it harder to hit. (If the science behind throwing a baseball intrigues you and you want to learn more, go to Fastball, slider, change-up, curveball—an analysis )
Fast balls are the Cadillac of a pitcher’s repertoire. A great fastball pitcher can throw those cannonballs right by some of the best hitters and leave them shaking their heads in disbelief. But Major League starting pitchers can’t only throw fast balls, no matter how loaded with speed. Batters will have the pitcher figured out in a heartbeat, and he won’t stay in the Major Leagues very long. The pitcher has to mix it up to keep the batter guessing and throw something at the batter he has a hard time hitting. Batters don’t only watch the ball. They also watch the pitcher’s arm and wrist action to determine what the pitch is going to be.
With some help from two pitching guides for fans from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Seattle Post Intelligencer, and some guidance from The Baseball Buddy, here’s a guide for the most common pitches.
Four Seam Fast Ball: Remember the loopy seam with the 108 stitches? In a four seam fast ball, the pitcher holds the ball with his fingers on the widest apart location of the seams with his fingers on the seams. This pitch is the fastest pitch and the easiest to control because it comes in straight. Batters love it if it comes in high and in the middle of the strike zone. That’s potential home run territory. This is your fastest pitch, usually clocking in between 90 mph and, God forbid, 100 mph.
Two Seam Fastball (also called a Sinker) is similar but the pitcher holds the ball at the narrowest apart location of the seams. This grip causes a spin that causes the ball to drop or sink in the strike zone. This pitch comes over the plate at a slower speed than the four seam fastball.
Change Up: The pitcher’s arm action is similar to a fastball, but it comes in at a slower speed so it messes with the batter’s rhythm. You might see a batter swing early on the ball and strike, or hit it weakly so he fouls or hits a wimpy little grounder. But if a batter sees it coming, he has plenty of time to slam it hard. The element of unexpectedness is important.
A breaking ball refers to pitches that do not travel in straight line. A breaking ball has some sideways or downward motion on it. Curveballs and sliders are two kinds of breaking balls. The Baseball Buddy and The Boyfriend both had to help me on this one. (See, I had to ask the questions yet another time!)
Four Seam Fast Ball: Remember the loopy seam with the 108 stitches? In a four seam fast ball, the pitcher holds the ball with his fingers on the widest apart location of the seams with his fingers on the seams. This pitch is the fastest pitch and the easiest to control because it comes in straight. Batters love it if it comes in high and in the middle of the strike zone. That’s potential home run territory. This is your fastest pitch, usually clocking in between 90 mph and, God forbid, 100 mph.
Two Seam Fastball (also called a Sinker) is similar but the pitcher holds the ball at the narrowest apart location of the seams. This grip causes a spin that causes the ball to drop or sink in the strike zone. This pitch comes over the plate at a slower speed than the four seam fastball.
Change Up: The pitcher’s arm action is similar to a fastball, but it comes in at a slower speed so it messes with the batter’s rhythm. You might see a batter swing early on the ball and strike, or hit it weakly so he fouls or hits a wimpy little grounder. But if a batter sees it coming, he has plenty of time to slam it hard. The element of unexpectedness is important.
A breaking ball refers to pitches that do not travel in straight line. A breaking ball has some sideways or downward motion on it. Curveballs and sliders are two kinds of breaking balls. The Baseball Buddy and The Boyfriend both had to help me on this one. (See, I had to ask the questions yet another time!)
Slider: A slider comes in and takes a dramatic move on a horizontal plane, starting on one side of the plate and moving toward the other. Depending on whether the batter is a righty or a lefty, it could be moving towards or away the batter.
Curveball: A curve ball comes in and moves away from or towards the batter (again depending on whether the batter is hitting from the right or the left of the plate) but it drops as well as it moves across the plate. It tends to be slower than the slider.
Splitter: A splitter has a similar release as a fastball and it has a lot of speed, but the pitcher splits his fingers farther apart in his grip. This causes the ball to come sailing fast over the plate, and then drop at a dramatic angle at the last minute, like a ball falling off the end of a table. Think of it like that old joke of poking someone’s chest and when he looks down, you clip his nose with your index finger. Nasty, but effective.
Knuckleball: Tim Wakefield with the Red Sox and R.A. Dickey with the Mariners are the only knuckleball pitchers I’m aware of currently pitching. The pitcher holds the ball with his fingernails and tries to release the ball with all four fingers with as little spin as possible. This makes the ball “dance” on it ways to the plate so it’s unpredictable. Hitters hate knuckleball pitchers because even if you know a knuckleball is coming, you don’t know where it is going to go. Former AL Umpire Ron Luciano says about the knuckleball, “Not only can’t pitchers control it, hitters can’t hit it, catchers can’t catch it, coaches can’t coach it, and most pitchers can’t learn it. It’s the perfect pitch.”
Knuckleball: Tim Wakefield with the Red Sox and R.A. Dickey with the Mariners are the only knuckleball pitchers I’m aware of currently pitching. The pitcher holds the ball with his fingernails and tries to release the ball with all four fingers with as little spin as possible. This makes the ball “dance” on it ways to the plate so it’s unpredictable. Hitters hate knuckleball pitchers because even if you know a knuckleball is coming, you don’t know where it is going to go. Former AL Umpire Ron Luciano says about the knuckleball, “Not only can’t pitchers control it, hitters can’t hit it, catchers can’t catch it, coaches can’t coach it, and most pitchers can’t learn it. It’s the perfect pitch.”
The Baseball Buddy adds his two cents on the knuckleball, "Knuckleballers? They’ve always been rare, so they’re fun to watch. Unfortunately, the new domed stadiums are making them even rarer. The dead air inside a domed stadium makes the knuckleball, which depends on air currents for its deceptive movement, useless. Another good reason for baseball being played outdoors, the way nature intended. "
All of these pitches try to achieve the same purpose, summed up nicely in the haiku below (printed here in honor of the New York Softball Gang):
Pitcher and catcher
Head for the dugout
The batter stares at his bat
-Cor van den Heuvel in Baseball Haiku, Norton Books, 2007.
Pitcher and catcher
Head for the dugout
The batter stares at his bat
-Cor van den Heuvel in Baseball Haiku, Norton Books, 2007.
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