The Curveball - When & How to Pitch
In baseball, there are four rudimentary pitches: the four-seam fastball, the two-seam fastball, the change-up, and the curveball. Both the change-up and curve ball are off-speed pitches that a pitcher throws when he wants to keep a hitter off balance. For example, if a pitcher begins a sequence of pitches by throwing an outside fastball at the knees for a strike, and then an inside fastball letter-high to which a batter swings and misses, then his next pitch should be a curveball thrown at the same visual point that the letter-high fastball was thrown. By doing so, the pitch will effectively disguise his pitch by making it appear as though a fastball is coming toward the batter from the same visual perspective; furthermore, the pitch is twenty miles per hour slower descending at a 45 degree angle through the strike zone which effectively causes a batter to misfire and become off-balance when swinging.
This is not the only time during an at bat one would want to throw a curveball. Nonetheless, the same basic principle applies in so far as a pitcher needs to utilize the curveball as a deceptive pitch. Depending on the batter, a pitcher may want to throw all curveballs, or no curveballs. Each batter has his own personal strengths and weaknesses. According to these strengths and weaknesses a pitcher must execute how and when he throws the particular pitches. However, more often than not, even if a batter has a history of not being able to strike a curveball, one would not want to pitch strictly curveballs because doing so will allow that batter to hone in on the pitch and eventually strike it.
Often times the hitters with the most trouble striking curveballs are power hitters. This is usually the case because many homerun hitters have a tendency to over swing while trying to hit every pitch - especially fastballs - out of the ballpark. By taking this approach at the plate, power hitters are usually unable to keep their hands and body weight back, thus, when they swing at a curve ball they are usually out in front of the pitch.
Before one can learn to throw a curveball, they should always keep in mind that a pitcher should not throw one until his or her muscles have fully developed. In other words, young pitchers should not be throwing curve balls because it can have irreversible damage on one’s tendons and ligaments. In many cases where a pitcher has blows his arm out, medical professionals have linked doing so to throwing curveballs at a young age. Thus, if one ever should have aspirations of pitching at the professional level, one should not attempt to throw a curveball until their body can handle the stress of throwing one.
There are a few different ways to throw a curveball, however, one method is predominantly used. This method consists of a pitcher gripping the ball with two fingers along the right vertical seam of the ball (or the left vertical seam if on is left-handed). After this grip is applied, a pitcher should go into the same mechanical motion that he or she uses in order deliver a fastball. However, rather than vertically following straight through - as is the case with a fastball - the pitcher should diagonally snap his throwing motion from the same release point. In other words, at the same release point as one releases his fastball, one should release the ball is if he or she were pulling down on a light cord. This diagonal motion applies a spin to the ball as it is rotating toward the plate, which consequently allows the ball to come in at a slower velocity, but more importantly makes the ball go through the strike zone as if it were falling off the edge of a table.
There are many great curveball pitchers in the Major Leagues; however, according to many experts, perhaps the best curveball belongs to Oakland A’s pitcher Barry Zito. Even though Zito does not have a good fastball - about 85 mph -, his great curveball allows him to keep big league hitters off balance. Many curve balls will drop around 12 - 18 inches through the strike zone; however, Zito’s curveball often times drops nearly four feet because of the angle he throws it at. Making his curveball even more effective is the fact that the pitchers mound is elevated seemingly making the pitch drop even more than it actually does because of the downward flight path.
