Friday, January 13, 2012

What to Know About Curveball Pitching in Baseball?


Major League Baseball pitchers throw hard curveballs that often start out near the batter's head or shoulders and break down and away toward a batter's feet. They make this pitch with a hard twisting action of the wrist that causes stress to the pitching arm. Youth baseball pitchers who are 14 years of age and younger should never throw this kind of pitch because their young arms can't take that kind of stress. However, young pitchers can throw curveballs by changing their grip and not the throwing motion.
Step 1
Grip the baseball along the laces. When you throw a fastball, your fingers go across the laces. When you throw a curveball, your index and middle fingers go along the laces.
Step 2
Put a little extra pressure on the lace with your middle finger and pick your forefinger off the ball. This will create extra pressure on the ball and will force it to spin when it is delivered. This spin will force a right-handed pitcher's delivery to curve down and away from a right-handed batter.
Step 3
Concentrate on the catcher's glove once you have the proper grip on the ball. Drive with your left foot toward home plate -- if you are a right-handed pitcher -- and come straight over the top with your arm before you release the ball.
Step 4
Drive your hand all the way down toward your left foot when you release the ball. This will ensure that the ball does not stay up high in the hitting zone. When a curve ball stays high in the hitting zone, it is much easier for the batter to hit it.

 
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