Anybody playing with this?? Couple of my kids and I did playing catch. Been reading lots of articles about it.

Im trying to learn a little more about this pitch...I was taught a pitch similar to this, but we called it a football or foshball...

Check it out....
gyroball

There was a rather lengthy discussion of the gyro ball in the NY Times a few weeks back. From their description, it sounded like the ball behaves like a standard change up, but the batter is deceived because the rotation looks like a hanging slider -- slider direction spin but just not snapped off hard. The batter reads hanging slider and attacks, the ball goes down and in like a changeup and the batter ends up looking foolish.

quote:

Originally posted by turnin2:
Anybody playing with this?? Couple of my kids and I did playing catch. Been reading lots of articles about it.

I think you're wasting your time.

Bullets have rifle spin so that they fly straight. The last thing you want is a pitch that comes in on a rail (e.g. absolutely straight).

With a gyroball, what you will most likely end up with is a slow fastball; a ball that's too fast to be a good change-up and too slow, and too straight, to be a good fastball.

COnsidering that the ball is round and the bullet slender and pointed, to compare the two isn't accurate. The effect of rifle spin is to prevent drop essentially, so that they fly longer -- without wasted motion. We have no idea what will happen on a gyroball until we see it, and it could be different from different pitchers.

quote:

Originally posted by jhick40:
COnsidering that the ball is round and the bullet slender and pointed, to compare the two isn't accurate. The effect of rifle spin is to prevent drop essentially, so that they fly longer -- without wasted motion. We have no idea what will happen on a gyroball until we see it, and it could be different from different pitchers.

Actually, the point of rifling is to improve accuracy. That means ensuring that the bullet travels in a straight path.

That is the last thing you want a baseball to do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifling

Backspin is the thing the reduces the drop of a ball.

Also, I have worked with a few guys (e.g. football quarterbacks) who have accidentally thrown a gyroball and their problem is lack of movement.

pain

quote:

Actually, the point of rifling is to improve accuracy. That means ensuring that the bullet travels in a straight path.

That is the last thing you want a baseball to do.

Bullets dont have seams... "rifling" something with seams can have movement. It looks like Dice K is throwing a hanging slider, then the ball acts like a nasty split finger.

Don't buy into myths gentlemen...

http://www.aolsportsblog.com/2007/03/27/dice-ks-gyroball-is-a-myth/

quote:

Originally posted by Yankeelvr:
Don't buy into myths gentlemen...

http://www.aolsportsblog.com/2007/03/27/dice-ks-gyroball-is-a-myth/

Also, "Double Spin Mechanics" is just another way of describing how pitchers throw a pitch while pronating the forearm.

That includes all screwballs, many circle change-ups, and some fastballs (those that bore or run in on the hands).

The first spin is the rotation of the hips ahead of the shoulders like this...



The second spin is the pronation of the forearm through the release point.

Claiming this as a new discovery is as absurd a claim as saying that you're the discoverer of the Atlantic Ocean.

quote:

Originally posted by deemax:
pain

quote:

Actually, the point of rifling is to improve accuracy. That means ensuring that the bullet travels in a straight path.

That is the last thing you want a baseball to do.

Bullets dont have seams... "rifling" something with seams can have movement. It looks like Dice K is throwing a hanging slider, then the ball acts like a nasty split finger.

Cha ching

quote:

Originally posted by deemax:
pain

quote:

Actually, the point of rifling is to improve accuracy. That means ensuring that the bullet travels in a straight path.

That is the last thing you want a baseball to do.

Bullets dont have seams... "rifling" something with seams can have movement. It looks like Dice K is throwing a hanging slider, then the ball acts like a nasty split finger.

Dice K has openly admitted to not knowing how to throw a gyroball.