Over the course of history, the curveball has been a major part of many pitchers bag of pitches. While this is a greatly necessary pitch, it does require that you understand basic pitching mechanics to avoid injury and incorrect throwing of this pitch.
In order to grip a curveball correctly, youll need to put your index and ring finger on the opposite seam as your thumb. The end result is that your index finger and thumb have split the baseball in half. It is also important to place some light to medium pressure on your thumb and middle fingers. Your index finger with this grip should remain lightly rested on the baseball.
For pitchers that are just learning the curveball grip I tell them to slightly raise their index finger off the ball to ensure they dont apply pressure with it. This will allow the correct rotation to come off upon release of the pitch.
Once you have a basic understanding of this pitch you will be tempted to work on it a lot. I must remind you that without proper pitching mechanics, you run the risk of hurting you arm. In addition of injury, there are some other important reasons why you need to understand pitching mechanics. First, you will end up showing hitters what your are throwing and giving youre your curveball. Secondly, you may end up reducing your arm speed when throwing a curveball which will ultimately telegraph your pitch to the hitter, obviously making it less effective. The only thing that changes when throwing a curveball is your wrist and forearm angles. There is no snapping of the baseball, instead, let the baseball roll off your index finger. If you have the correct angle with your wrist upon release, this should be a natural motion.
Coaches and parents need to monitor how many Curveballs a young athlete throws, especially when the pitch really begins to work for him. Pitchers who throw the curveball well and experience great success with it, tend to overuse the pitch. The ratio of pitches thrown should be 15-20% Curveballs regardless of how effective the pitch is. - 16887
In order to grip a curveball correctly, youll need to put your index and ring finger on the opposite seam as your thumb. The end result is that your index finger and thumb have split the baseball in half. It is also important to place some light to medium pressure on your thumb and middle fingers. Your index finger with this grip should remain lightly rested on the baseball.
For pitchers that are just learning the curveball grip I tell them to slightly raise their index finger off the ball to ensure they dont apply pressure with it. This will allow the correct rotation to come off upon release of the pitch.
Once you have a basic understanding of this pitch you will be tempted to work on it a lot. I must remind you that without proper pitching mechanics, you run the risk of hurting you arm. In addition of injury, there are some other important reasons why you need to understand pitching mechanics. First, you will end up showing hitters what your are throwing and giving youre your curveball. Secondly, you may end up reducing your arm speed when throwing a curveball which will ultimately telegraph your pitch to the hitter, obviously making it less effective. The only thing that changes when throwing a curveball is your wrist and forearm angles. There is no snapping of the baseball, instead, let the baseball roll off your index finger. If you have the correct angle with your wrist upon release, this should be a natural motion.
Coaches and parents need to monitor how many Curveballs a young athlete throws, especially when the pitch really begins to work for him. Pitchers who throw the curveball well and experience great success with it, tend to overuse the pitch. The ratio of pitches thrown should be 15-20% Curveballs regardless of how effective the pitch is. - 16887
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