i get the general idea of how to throw the hard breaking curveball but does anyone have advice on how to position your fingers, finish with your arm or anything at all that might be helpful?
thanks

I always recommend positioning of fingers to the bottom side of the c as you look at it, middle finger resting on the seam, open end toward your palm. In the glove position your hand like you would a fb (Instaed of setting it with your hand already supinated)..back of hand to body. At hand break think fb grip until the ball is out front or just past the shoulder, then allow your wrist to supinate (As a lefty it'll look like a C as a righty backward to that), at release pull down don't reach for target like with a fb. Important to throw the ball through the target to throw it for a strike, don't attempt to "add" spin or it'll go 55' and break into the dirt in front of home. The mechanics of the pitch and the torque provided by the proper gripping gives a consistent snapping curve that will be controllable and break tightly.
Other folks throw the curve differently, this method has worked and produced a scout considered "plus" curve in my son with no elbow or shoulder issues rising from it..he's thrown it since he was 12, hes 18 now and very successful and effective with it.

I hold the ball with the wide part of the "horseshoe" seam toward the palm, middle finger on the top edge of that seam, index finger pressed firmly against the middle finger. I also bend my thumb at a tight 90 degree angle on the underside of the ball--I feel like this gets the thumb out of the way and lets the ball rotate over it better.

Unlike the fastball, where you want a loose grip, you've got to really squeeze the ball in your fingers to get maximum rotation at release.

For the best downward break you need to make sure your wrist is bent at nearly 90 degrees inward so that your fingers are out in front of the ball at release. Your natural arm angle will determine whether your curve is 12 to 6 or at more of an angle--doesn't really matter, either one is tough to hit if it has good bite. Don't change your normal arm slot to throw the curve.

I throw the curve at various speeds. The slower one will break more, but with less bite. Increase your arm speed and you'll get less break, but sharper. Both are effective depending on the situation.

It's important that you have a strong, consistent finish/follow-through on all pitches but it's a must for a good curve. Don't try to "snap" the wrist at release, but do let the wrist roll under as you pull the arm down hard when releasing the ball.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

quote:

For the best downward break you need to make sure your wrist is bent at nearly 90 degrees inward so that your fingers are out in front of the ball at release.

Pitcher18--I agree with most everything you said except for the quoted bit, above.

If you try to keep your wrist bent like this while simultaneously trying to achieve typical pitch release velocities with a 5 oz ball in your hand, I think you are headed for real trouble.

Check out release point stills or, better, good video that shows elite pitchers throwing breaking balls. They do not bend their wrist--in fact, a straight-ahead firm-wristed 'karate-chop' release is the most effective: It allows the ball to roll off of the fingers with topspin without causing too much stress on wrist and forearm as the hand/wrist/forearm go into pronation immediately after release.

ive started messing around with it trying different ideas and trying to find whats most comfortable and affective for me.
thanks for your input