Thread: Screwball video

Does anyone have video or a link to a player throwing a screwball that breaks? Could you share it? I am looking for video showing a break with an arc in the left-to-right trajectory... like a curveball has, not just a straight line from outside to inside on a rhb.

This does not have to be game footage, it can be in a 'lab' (pitching lane) setting if one of the pitching coaches here can supply footage. Feel free to pm if you prefer.

Thanks all!
VW

Ignore the first half, and ignore most of the commentary. Check out at 2:40. It is mostly angles, but this one breaks a bit.



-W

Good stuff, 'snuff. Thank you. Any others out there?

Originally Posted by starsnuffer

Ignore the first half, and ignore most of the commentary. Check out at 2:40. It is mostly angles, but this one breaks a bit.



-W

Almost appears like a basic FB thrown off angle.

If the ball was thrown like a true breaking pitch the pitcher would not have to throw her body across the pitching lane to make it look like it is moving.

I believe it was Ray (Sluggers) that posted some movement numbers from the WCWS. Screwballs, at the top college level, only break 2-3 inches. They really don't move much.

Angles are what fool batters. It's what makes a rise work (we all know they don't break), it's what makes a curve work, and all the other "breaking" pitches. A pitcher hitting their spot trumps all else, and pitchers don't just throw to a "spot", but throw to a zone angling over the corners of the plate. They should be aware of where the ball is 15' out from the batter (when the decision is made to swing) and where the ball is when it's under the umpires eyeballs. The differences in these two locations are the key to successful pitching.

-W

Originally Posted by starsnuffer

I believe it was Ray (Sluggers) that posted some movement numbers from the WCWS. Screwballs, at the top college level, only break 2-3 inches. They really don't move much.

Angles are what fool batters. It's what makes a rise work (we all know they don't break), it's what makes a curve work, and all the other "breaking" pitches. A pitcher hitting their spot trumps all else, and pitchers don't just throw to a "spot", but throw to a zone angling over the corners of the plate. They should be aware of where the ball is 15' out from the batter (when the decision is made to swing) and where the ball is when it's under the umpires eyeballs. The differences in these two locations are the key to successful pitching.

-W

that's a great statement right there !!!

is there a certain grip for a screwball and is this the proper way to throw one?

Originally Posted by gvm

is there a certain grip for a screwball and is this the proper way to throw one?

Grips are a personal preference. You see a lot of strange stuff with the screwball. This is probably because even the best thrown ones don't move all that much (as mentioned above), so pitchers can get away with throwing with weird spins that don't necessarily break at all. Some people say that the baseball "gyroball" is really a good screwball. The gyroball is thrown with a bullet spin, and we all know that bullet spin gets no break at all. So there's a lot of sillyness.

My DD uses this grip for hers:



-W

gvm, why worry about the grip or the proper way to throw a screwball if it doesn't break anyway?

Pretty sure the goal of the pitcher is to get outs, not to make people ogle over the movement on youtube. For the purpose of getting outs, it's a pretty useful pitch to have in the quiver of tools, albeit far from necessary to be a successful pitcher.

-W