The Most Common Complaints About How to Grip & Throw Each Pitch, and Why They’re Bunk

We hope to keep all or most of the info on PBI free so that everyone can have access to it. Getting a good grip every time is the first step to being an accurate and strong thrower. As a pitcher progresses with this pitch, they may develop sink or arm-side run. Often this pitch will be used to work the arm side of the plate. Remember, it is important to develop your fastball early and often. When you pitch to contact that will help your defense make more plays and, ultimately, help you win more ball games.

Although Syndergaard’s fastball is 98 mph, the two-seam fastball tends to be a bit slower in velocity than the four seamer. We’ve listed some additional grips below that can be used. Primarily, our pitchers will use “FT 1” about 75% of the time, but finger placement can always be adjusted based on comfort. A two-seam fastball that has a high horizontal break and drops less is often referred to as a running fastball.

The hand should be higher then and well outside the elbow at release point. Do not curl the wrist inside the forearm, this reduces ball velocity. The pitcher should attempt to get the hand up high in the cocked position with the elbow at least as high as the shoulder.

If your son is a pitcher, you’re going to love this guide… The crook between the first and second joint of the ring finger stabilizes the ball. Check mini baseball pitching machine out the movement on this pitch to get Mark Teixeira swinging… Releasing the ball too much from the side caused by turning the hand over too much.

That causes the ball to sink to some degree, though this is not considered a “breaking pitch” and is thrown at full velocity. Still a fastball so all force is applied right through the middle of the ball creating backspin with a little extra pressure on the index finger. Explore my pitching workouts and throwing programs for players who work hard and don’t make excuses. Place your index and middle finger on the outside of the seams of the lower part of the C- Shape. Your middle knuckle on each finger should lie on the area where the seams start to widen. Squeeze the ball with your thumb pushing it against your middle finger.

While some may perceive it to rise, the four-seam fastball is just a straight pitch. You use it when you are trying to stay ahead of a batter. It’s a great pitch to use if you are trying to overpower a hitter, or if their swing is slow. One of the big misconceptions in baseball is that playing the game keeps you in shape to pitch.

For the four-seam fastball, place two fingers across the seams with your thumb underneath. If you rotate the ball 360 degrees towards home plate from this position, you can count the four seams; hence, a four-seam grip. For smaller hands, it is natural to use three fingers on the seam. The four-seam fastball is a great pitch for maintaining control and throwing with velocity to your target. When throwing this pitch in the zone you will create weak contact and ground balls for your defense to field.

Check out this change up from Max Scherzer to strike out Adam Dunn… I literally feel like crying on behalf of hitters everywhere. Check out this change up from Stephen Strasburg.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at the 4 seam fastball vs. the 2 seam fastball. We’ll discuss how each pitch is thrown and how it affects hitters. Lastly, we’ll give you our take on which type of fastball is best. The grip will allow the ball to move towards your throwing hand side, and may drop the velocity a few miles per hour, creating a good pitch to mix in with the four seamer. A right-handed pitcher will usually see the ball move down and in toward a right handed hitter—or down and away from a left handed hitter, as seen in the GIF above.

The velocity of this pitch also varies greatly from pitcher to pitcher. At the major collegiate level and higher, two-seam fastballs are typically thrown in the low 90s , but with much variation. If a pitcher places pressure on the index finger, the ball will run away from right-handed batters from a right-handed pitcher. If the pressure is placed on the middle finger, the ball will run away from left-handed batters.