I have seen a number of posters refer to a "little league curveball" or refer to it as a 12-6. Taking a chance on showing some real ignorance here... what the heck are they talking about ? Doesn't the ideal CB break 12-6 ? Threw plenty of hooks and always ended up with thumb on top, cutting the ball with my middle finger. Has there been a discovery in physics ? Some believe this LL CB is safe to teach to some pretty young players. Please explain. The only LL CBs I've witnessed were in Williamsport and they darn sure looked like a "real" CB to me.

The LL CB is a CB that has a longer break hence the 12-6. Starts high and breaks way down. Very effective at LL level if you can master it.
If you throw tha pitch the wrist does not twist and that reduces stress on elbow area.
The ML CB is a tighter rotating CB and breaks at the front of the plate. It is usually released latter than the LL CB. It also can have a hugh drop but is not released as hhigh (early) The ML CB has a tomahawk motion as the wrist and fingers snap on the realease of the ball.

BobbleheadDoll,

I'm having a hard time visualizing the difference between the two curveballs. The "ML CB" that you describe doesn't sound much different to me than the "LL CB". The only difference as far as I can tell is that one (LL) is released sooner than the other (ML). You mentioned there was no wrist twist in the "LL CB". Are you saying that there is some wrist twist in the "ML CB"?

Jason

Yes the wrist in the LL CB is not twisted like the ML CB. The ML CB has a snapping motion where the wrist turns and the fingers spin the ball. An excercise that was given to my son was to snap his fingers and twist his wrist as he did the finger snap. Ofte when he was throwing his ML CB you would see him do this after throwing it to get the feel for throwing it. It is hard to describe. Most of my efforts were put into his mechanics and the coaches taught him his pitches. I watched his videos and picked up the wrist action and his arm was slightly bent as he snapped and twisted his wrist. Maybe Callaway can describe it better. I know that when he was taught the ML CB he was told to release it more out front and it would produce a tighter rotation and a sharper break that advanced batters would have trouble picking up. THe term LL and ML simply are a way of differentiating them in terms of hittability. He still throws the LL CB once of twice in a ball game. It looks like it is going in high and then tucks back in. Usually the batters shoulder relax and it is too late to reload.

It sounds like the only real difference is an earlier release point ? This doesn't seem like it would be any easier on an arm, just poor technique. Something has to impart rotation on the baseball to get it to break (or no rotation as with a KB). How is this done when throwing the LL CB ?

Yank I posted a video under Bobbleheaddoll LL Curve that shows my son throwing this pitch last year. You can actually see the wrist is not twisted/snapped and the long fluid arm motion. This was in a game at the beautiful Sal Maglia stadium in NF NY.

Bobble,

Heck of a pitch, still curious how he generates the movement. What % of his FB velocity is this pitch thrown with ?

His off speeds are usually 10-12 Mph slower.
He is one of these guys who can throw several off speeds and I never get a straight answer from him. He dosen't throw that LL often. Maybe twice a game.