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Gastric ReFlux · 10-19-2006, 10:34 AM

Quick descriptions:

Fastball - basically throw the ball as hard as possible. The seams can be positioned differently in the fingers to give varying amounts of tail, a slight break, to the pitch. Most major league pitchers are capable of throwing a fastball at least 90 miles per hour, although there are some who get by with fastballs in the 80's. There have been a few pitchers who could throw a ball over 100 mph.

Changeup - This is a pitch of deception. The idea is to throw the ball with the exact same arm action as a fastball, but by gripping the ball differently get the ball to go 10 to 15 mph less than the fastball. It can be very effective if it fools the hitter into thinking a fastball is coming, as the hitter will have to decelerate his swing to correct for the slower speed. A circle change is a changeup and refers to the grip used, it's held with the last 3 fingers on top of the ball, and then the forefinger and thumb forming a circle on the side

Curveball - The ball is thrown with a snap of the wrist and gives the ball spin to make the ball break right-to-left thrown by a righthander, and left-to-right by a southpaw. The pitcher usually tries to put a bit of topspin to the break, as it is usually better to give the curve downward break at the end. It's important to get a very good wrist snap when throwing it, as it makes the break much better. A curveball that doesn't break or breaks very little is called a hanger, or hanging breaking ball, and hitters can jump all over those.

Screwball - It's a difficult pitch to throw, because the pitcher has to turn the hand over in the direction opposite of the curveball. It's also been most frequently favored by lefthanded pitchers, because a lefty throwing a screwball gets the ball to break right-to-left, or away from right-handed hitters. Generally, breaking pitches away from batters are harder to hit than breaking pitches that break in towards batters.

You left off the knuckleball!

The knuckleball is a pitch held in the fingertips, which causes the knuckles to stick out and gives the pitch its name. By holding the ball this way, the pitcher can throw the ball in such a way that it leaves the fingertips with little or no spin. A ball thrown that way can do almost anything, because the seams disrupt the smooth flow of air and also wind gusts can affect the path of the pitch. The ball breaks erratically, making it very difficult for hitters to judge, and also hard for catchers to catch.

I hope that helps some.

10-19-2006, 10:34 AM	#64
Gastric ReFlux Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Member #3409 Posts: 8,350	Quick descriptions: Fastball - basically throw the ball as hard as possible. The seams can be positioned differently in the fingers to give varying amounts of tail, a slight break, to the pitch. Most major league pitchers are capable of throwing a fastball at least 90 miles per hour, although there are some who get by with fastballs in the 80's. There have been a few pitchers who could throw a ball over 100 mph. Changeup - This is a pitch of deception. The idea is to throw the ball with the exact same arm action as a fastball, but by gripping the ball differently get the ball to go 10 to 15 mph less than the fastball. It can be very effective if it fools the hitter into thinking a fastball is coming, as the hitter will have to decelerate his swing to correct for the slower speed. A circle change is a changeup and refers to the grip used, it's held with the last 3 fingers on top of the ball, and then the forefinger and thumb forming a circle on the side Curveball - The ball is thrown with a snap of the wrist and gives the ball spin to make the ball break right-to-left thrown by a righthander, and left-to-right by a southpaw. The pitcher usually tries to put a bit of topspin to the break, as it is usually better to give the curve downward break at the end. It's important to get a very good wrist snap when throwing it, as it makes the break much better. A curveball that doesn't break or breaks very little is called a hanger, or hanging breaking ball, and hitters can jump all over those. Screwball - It's a difficult pitch to throw, because the pitcher has to turn the hand over in the direction opposite of the curveball. It's also been most frequently favored by lefthanded pitchers, because a lefty throwing a screwball gets the ball to break right-to-left, or away from right-handed hitters. Generally, breaking pitches away from batters are harder to hit than breaking pitches that break in towards batters. You left off the knuckleball! The knuckleball is a pitch held in the fingertips, which causes the knuckles to stick out and gives the pitch its name. By holding the ball this way, the pitcher can throw the ball in such a way that it leaves the fingertips with little or no spin. A ball thrown that way can do almost anything, because the seams disrupt the smooth flow of air and also wind gusts can affect the path of the pitch. The ball breaks erratically, making it very difficult for hitters to judge, and also hard for catchers to catch. I hope that helps some.