How to Throw Baseball Pitches

• by Jason W.

Introduction

• You've probably thrown a baseball before. But it's likely that nobody confuses you for a Major Leaguer (or a Minor Leaguer, or even a semi-pro ballplayer). As anyone who's watched baseball knows, each pitcher has his own stance, motion, arm angle, and delivery. And that means you can experiment with your delivery and pitches to find what gets you a little more "oomph" in your throws. Maybe you'll never advance beyond your rec league, but, with a little practice, you can wow your friends and teammates with strong, accurate throws all day long.
• You'll need a ball, a glove, and (preferably) a partner. Play ball!

Step 1: Stance

• An accurate pitch begins before you even start your throwing motion. Pre-pitch fundamentals are just as important as a strong and accurate arm. Your entire body goes into delivering a pitch, so you have to know how to make every part best work in concert to deliver the perfect pitch every time. How you set your feet and legs (your stance) is the first step in making a successful pitch.

1. Face your target.
2. Your feet should be just outside your shoulders.
3. Keep your legs straight, about a shoulder-width apart.
4. If you're on a pitching mound with a rubber, stand near the right of the rubber if you're right-handed, left of the rubber if you're left-handed.
5. Raise both hands to about chest level while holding the ball in your glove.

• YouTube: Expert Village: Power Position for Baseball Pitching (Time: 2:46)
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• There are a number of ways you can experiment with your stance—you can change the distance you set your feet apart, where you stand on the rubber, how high you hold your arms, etc. Feel free to experiment a little and use what works for you.

Step 2: Grip

• The grip is what determines whether you'll be throwing a fastball, a curve, or even a knuckleball. The grip is simply how you hold the ball, namely where your fingers are positioned across the seams, or stitching, of the baseball. The motion you impart to the ball via your grip and the motion of the air moving over the ball's surface (especially the seams) are what makes pitches act differently in flight.
• Taking slightly different variations into account, and depending on how they're categorized, there are around 20 different types of pitches in baseball, not including this one. We'll concentrate on some of the most well-known ones here.

The Four-Seam Fastball

• Your basic fastball is known as a four-seam fastball, because you grip it by putting your fingers over the four seams. It delivers maximum velocity but relatively little movement.

1. Put your index and middle fingers directly over the "fat" white part of the baseball, (where the seam takes a U-turn).
2. Space your fingers about half a finger-width apart.
3. Your middle finger should be on the side of the ball, at a 90-degree angle to the first two fingers.
4. Your thumb rests underneath the ball, nearly directly under where your first two fingers are.
5. Don't grip the ball tightly; there should be some space between your palm and the ball.

• YouTube: ViewDo: How To Throw a 4-seam Fastball (Time: 1:01)
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The Two-Seam Fastball

• There are many varieties of the two-seam fastball. It retains nearly all the velocity of the four-seam fastball, but also imparts motion to the pitch that can confuse batters. Here's how to grip a basic two-seam fastball:

1. Place your index and middle fingers along the narrow seams on the ball. The middles of your fingers should correspond to the narrowest parts of the seams.
2. Put your thumb under the ball, with the tip of the thumb resting between the seams (on the leather).
3. Your middle finger should be as far back as you can get it.

• YouTube: ViewDo: How To Throw a 2-Seam Fastball (Time: 1:54)
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The Curveball

• YouTube: ViewDo: How To Throw a Curveball (Time: 1:54)
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• The curveball does just what its name suggests: it curves, generally down or away from a batter. This is the grip for a four-seam curveball:

1. Remember how you put your index and middle fingers along the narrow seams for the two-seam fastball? Pull your index finger back slightly and keep your middle on the ball, running it along the seam.
2. The base of your middle finger should be just behind the top of the seam.
3. Put your index finger next to the middle finger, touching it if you can.
4. Your ring finger and pinky finger should be curled back and on the side of the ball, but the tips shouldn't quite touch your palm.
5. The bottom knuckle of your ring finger should be touching a seam.
6. Place the thumb underneath the ball, on the bottom seam.

• YouTube: How To Throw a Curveball (Time: 2:52)
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The Slider

• A slider is part fastball, part curveball. It's faster than a curve but has more motion than a fastball, as it seems to "slide" away from a hitter. No less an authority than Ted Williams called it "the best pitch in baseball."

1. Start with your two-seam fastball grip—index and middle fingers on the parallel seams of the ball and thumb underneath.
2. Now, raise your index finger slightly until the tip is actually off the ball.
3. When you throw, you'll let the ball "roll" off your middle finger. This imparts spin and makes the ball harder to hit.

• YouTube: How to Throw a Slider (Time: 1:15)
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The Circle Change

• The circle change is one of the most common forms of changeups (pitches that are thrown at a slower velocity to keep hitters off rhythm). The pitcher throws it as hard as a fastball, so it looks like a fastball to the hitter, but the grip doesn't allow the pitcher to impart as much force to the ball, so it winds up being slower than a fastball.

1. The circle change grip is similar to the grip for a four-seam fastball, except that it's the middle and ring fingers that straddle the seams.
2. You can also use a two-seam grip, with the middle and index fingers running along the seams.
3. Put your index finger and pinky finger on the outside of the ball, supporting it.
4. Your index finger should curl back and form a circle with your thumb, as if you were signaling "OK."

• YouTube: How to Throw a Changeup (Time: 2:31)
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The Knuckleball

• Probably the best-known "trick pitch" is the knuckleball. Very few pitchers ever attempt one and even fewer still master it (as much as it can be mastered). The most successful knuckleballer of recent years is Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox.
• A knuckleball's motion is the most unpredictable and wild of all pitches. Differences in airflow between the seams and the smooth part of the ball give it its erratic motion.

1. You'll want to grip the seams just above the narrow part of the ball.
2. Bend your index and middle fingers so that the fingernails are digging into the seams.
3. Your thumb should rest below and to the left of your first two fingers, on the seam.
4. Your ring finger supports the ball on the other side.

• If you can't throw a consistent knuckleball, don't feel too bad—you wouldn't be the first pitcher who couldn't control this difficult pitch!
• YouTube: ViewDo: How To Throw a Knuckleball (Time: 1:46)
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Step 3: Pitching Motion

• Now comes the most physically active and most visible part of your pitch, split up into three parts: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/34002_pitch-baseball-wind-up.htm the windup], the forward motion/release, and the follow-through.

Wind-Up

1. Take a very small step with your off leg (left leg for right-handers, right leg for left-handers).
2. Now pivot on your other leg. Your toes should be pointing toward third base for right-handers, first base for left-handers.
3. Bring your off leg up while also raising both hands (the ball should still be in your glove) slightly behind your head.

Forward Motion and Release

• At this point, all your momentum is toward the back of your body

1. Now you'll take a long stride forward with your off leg.
2. As you step forward, leave the ball toward the back of your body (bringing your glove hand forward) and lower it slightly.
3. As your foot hits the ground, bring your arm forward in a circular motion.
4. If using a basic three-quarter motion, your arm should swing out from your body like a clock at 1:30.
5. Fully extend your arm and drive forward with your step.
6. Each type of pitch has a different optimal release point. A general rule, though, is to release the ball as late as you can, usually just as your arm is starting to come down. This gives the hitter less time to adjust to your pitch.
   • When you release a curveball, you'll want to spin or "snap" your wrist to impart even greater motion.

Follow-Through

• Throwing a baseball should be a fluid motion, from start to finish, and it doesn't finish when you release the ball. A good follow-through can make the difference between an accurate pitch and one that slides in the dirt.

1. Let your arm continue its circular motion, slashing down and across your body. Don't stop moving it the instant you release the ball.
2. Your natural tendency will be to bend over on your follow-through. Let this happen, and let your pivot leg come forward and stabilize you. This is known as "finishing low."
3. If you're in a game situation, stabilize your position quickly so you can field any balls batted back to you.

Step 4: Achieving Consistency

• Pitching can be described as "the constant struggle for perfection with the realization that you'll never achieve it." Nevertheless, an aspiring pitcher should always attempt to improve his craft by minimizing the inconsistencies in his pitching.

1. Work on your grips. Memorize how to place your fingers and the knowledge should be automatic before too long.
2. Your throwing mechanics should be the same for every pitch. Not only will this help you achieve consistency, but if you have the same motion for every pitch, batters won't know what's coming until it's too late.
3. Watch baseball! Not every pitcher has mechanics you can copy, but you can learn a lot by seeing how the pros do it.
4. If you have access to a video camera, film yourself throwing and compare it to more experienced pitchers.
5. Practice, practice, practice!

Conclusion

• Pitching is one of baseball's most important skills. But there's more to being a pitcher than just throwing a baseball. You'll need the ability to focus mentally on your pitching game. Adding a good general workout routine, cardiovascular health, flexibility, and eating a balanced diet will go a long way toward molding you into the next Greg Maddux or Johan Santana. And knowing the basics will get you off to a good start, and may launch you on that path to stardom—or at least make you look better in your weekend league.

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Resources for How to Throw Baseball Pitches

• Chris O'Leary: Proper Pitching Mechanics (March 24, 2008)
• The Complete Pitcher: Pitching Grips: How to Throw 10 Baseball Pitches
• The Complete Pitcher: Pictures of How to Grip Baseball Pitches
• Flickr: Photo of Circle Change-up Grip
• illumin: Curveballs and Knuckleballs: Engineering Principles at Work in America's Favorite Pastime
• Let's Talk Pitching: Baseball Pitching Discussion Forums
• Little League Baseball: Little League Pitch Counts Questions and Answers  
• Popular Mechanics: The Mechanics Of A Breaking Pitch (April, 1997)
• QCBaseball: How to Learn and Coach Pitching
• Slate: How I Learned to Pitch (January 13, 2005)
• Steven Ellis: Pitching Grips | Five Ways to Improve Pitching Control
• WebMD: Arthritis and Elbows
• WebMD: John Smoltz, Pitcher for the Atlanta Braves (2000)
• WebMD: Bursitis Information, Symptoms, and Treatment
• Wikipedia: Baseball
• Wikipedia: Pitcher (baseball)
• Wikipedia: List of Baseball Pitches

Videos for How to Throw Baseball Pitches

• About.com: How to Throw a Baseball (Time: 1:27)  
• ExpertVillage: How to Pitch a Baseball  
• YouTube: Expert Village: Power Position for Baseball Pitching (Time: 2:46)
• YouTube: Pitching 101 (Time: 2:53)
• YouTube: ViewDo: How To Throw a 4-seam Fastball (Time: 1:01)
• YouTube: ViewDo: How To Throw a 2-Seam Fastball (Time: 1:54)
• YouTube: ViewDo: How To Throw a Curveball (Time: 1:54)
• YouTube: How To Throw a Curveball (Time: 2:52)
• YouTube: How to Throw a Slider (Time: 1:15)
• YouTube: How to Throw a Changeup (Time: 2:31)
• YouTube: ViewDo: How To Throw a Knuckleball (Time: 1:46)

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