Hey everybody Im new here, but i would just like to ask u guys a few quesions. Right now im a freshman in high school and play 2B for the frosh team. I'm interested in becoming a pitcher, but i can quite get the curveball to curve. Any help?

Most here would tell you to work the location of your fastball and a change-up. However, the best way to get the curve to curve is ask someone at your school that throws a good curve ball to show you the grip and how it is released.

However, your fastball delivery will dictate what off-speed will work for you. If you rush out and cannot get on top of the curve, it will spin. You would be better to get a cutter grip and just let it dart. Throw it like a fastball.

My son has a spike curve. He shows others on his team how to throw it and they show him their grips and give him other keys.

hey thanks papa, theres a buddy of mine who happpened to make varsity so i'll talk to him be4 practice today. thanks

Make sure you do not supinate the wrist in order to get more movement. Good way to hurt an elbow.

ya my friend told me today to do a tomahawk chop kind of movement with my arm and, what do u know? the thing started dropping like no other.

IR2B,

I throw my curve ball the same way that I would throw a football. The key thing to a curve ball is pulling down on the seams with your middle finger. That will get the ball to spin and all in all get the break you are looking for. One other thing to consider while throwing a curve is your thumb placement. Keep your thumb underneath the ball. Also, do exactly as Texan says. He's one of the most knowledgeable people on this site.

hey thanks for the help guys i went out and tried a few more after i got home from practice, and its helpin. Will do Texan.

Have to see you throw... You might not be a curveball guy....can you post a clip?

Yeah, consider the cutter.

As you get older you may find that top varsity hitters can feast on slow [around 60 mph] curveballs. A cutter has less movement than a curve but can be thrown with higher velocity and better control. A good cutter is very hard to hit well even for the best varsity hitters, often resulting in popups and weak grounders.

Consider these variables:
1) Amount of movement
2) Where the movement occurs as ball travels to plate
3) Velocity
4) Telegraphing pitch
5) Ability to hit spots
6) Stress on arm

The curve may win on variable #1, but usually not on the other five variables.

Also consider that there many mediocre pitchers in HS and almost all of them can throw curves.

hey thanks again for the help guys, i was throwin bp to a friend of mine today before practice, and i mixed in a few curves and it seemed like if i did anything not perfect he would smash the thing

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:
Make sure you do not supinate the wrist in order to get more movement. Good way to hurt an elbow.

What? Isn't that the way you get a ball to get curve-ball spin is to supinate?

hey, just got back from practice a little while ago, we had a little down time while waitin for varsity to get ready to go so i tried a couple cutters and they were workin really good and were goin a lot faster than the curve and movin fairly well, so i'll probably stick with that and if my coach wants a curve outta me he'll tell me.

quote:

Originally posted by jacetheace:

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:
Make sure you do not supinate the wrist in order to get more movement. Good way to hurt an elbow.

What? Isn't that the way you get a ball to get curve-ball spin is to supinate?

Not unless you want to risk elbow problems.

Keep the wrist in the same plane as the foream (no supinatio or pronation). Some use the verbal cue to pull down on the front of the ball.

quote:

i tried a couple cutters and they were working really good and were goin a lot faster than the curve and movin fairly well, so i'll probably stick with that and if my coach wants a curve outta me he'll tell me.

Great. A bat is only about 2 inches high. Doesn't take much movement to turn a crushing double into a bloop grounder or a K.

Many HS coaches don't like curves and insist that new pitchers mostly throw fastballs and changeups. Neither of my sons had much luck with changeups so they often substituted cutters. The coach never knew the difference since both pitches were about the same speed.

You can still show off your flashy killer curve occasionally to give hitters something to worry about while you're actually dispatching them with your cutter or fastball.

sounds good micdsguy. thanks for the help everyone

quote:

Originally posted by jacetheace:

quote:

Originally posted by Texan:
Make sure you do not supinate the wrist in order to get more movement. Good way to hurt an elbow.

What? Isn't that the way you get a ball to get curve-ball spin is to supinate?

I would guess Texan meant the supination should be preset so that there is no further supination during forward acceleration of the arm.

OK that makes sense. So supination is pre-set so the hand does not TURN during release?? Yes I agree with that 100%.

hey everybody, just to let u all no i pitched in a scrimmage yesterday, using the cutter. K'ed 4 guys in 4 innings with 1 run allowed