Relative to the screwball......I like the pitch.....but am extremely careful with how and at what age I teach it. Several posters on this thread suggested it negatively affects their other pitches.....I have seen this to many times. Lots of pitchers disconnect their upper and lower torso when throwing a screwball in an attempt to get an inside-out angle on the release (often they use what is referred to as "the hitchhiker" release).....it may be better described as an extreme butt out posture......very bad for mechanics. This is a weakened position and not conducive to achieving brush interference.
The number of screwball pitchers I've seen who truly get any measurable inward ball movement is probably less than 3 in all my years.
For a pitcher just learning a screwball I would suggest keeping it simple: 1) Simply stride/land about 6 inches to the left of the powerline (RHP).....the drag toe will naturally drag such that if you draw a line connecting the toe tips on each foot you will have created a new powerline that angles to the inside corner.
2) Throw your fastball or dropball release action down the new powerline
3) Throw the pitch low at knee high like you would a dropball
Here is what the action will look like: 1) An angle inward that is another factor for a hitter to deal with (that's a good thing for the pitcher) 2) A ball that drops (another good thing for the pitcher) 3. The axis of rotation will usually be tipped slightly off parallel to the ground so the ball actually has a very slight sliding action inward. If you have a visual stripe on the ball you will note the tipped axis. (also good for the pitcher)
Is this pitch different then an inside drop....not much different, but the angle is just enough to maybe give the hitter a little extra difficulty.
If a pitcher displays a reasonable riseball then the exact same guideline can be used....just change the release angle to a riseball release angle.
The number one caution is to not let your pitcher disconnect. If she can't throw a screwball without disconnecting, I'd recommend scrapping it.
The number of screwball pitchers I've seen who truly get any measurable inward ball movement is probably less than 3 in all my years.
For a pitcher just learning a screwball I would suggest keeping it simple: 1) Simply stride/land about 6 inches to the left of the powerline (RHP).....the drag toe will naturally drag such that if you draw a line connecting the toe tips on each foot you will have created a new powerline that angles to the inside corner.
2) Throw your fastball or dropball release action down the new powerline
3) Throw the pitch low at knee high like you would a dropball
Here is what the action will look like: 1) An angle inward that is another factor for a hitter to deal with (that's a good thing for the pitcher) 2) A ball that drops (another good thing for the pitcher) 3. The axis of rotation will usually be tipped slightly off parallel to the ground so the ball actually has a very slight sliding action inward. If you have a visual stripe on the ball you will note the tipped axis. (also good for the pitcher)
Is this pitch different then an inside drop....not much different, but the angle is just enough to maybe give the hitter a little extra difficulty.
If a pitcher displays a reasonable riseball then the exact same guideline can be used....just change the release angle to a riseball release angle.
The number one caution is to not let your pitcher disconnect. If she can't throw a screwball without disconnecting, I'd recommend scrapping it.