Chelsea Wilkinson

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Dec 5, 2012
4,143
63
Mid West
Grips it with the "fattie" part of the thumb. The thumb itself is positioned alongside the index, off the ball. As such, it's back in her palm a bit... hence the loss of speed. Gets actual backspin, with the axis in the upper left... when viewed from catching her. The grip results in the cup... which really aids her in achieving as good of spin as she displays. Furthermore... she spins 40+ rps... pretty wild.

Correct... this is her rise. She actually gets 45 rps on this rise grip. Rick Pauly showed me this one while in Indiana this spring.
 
Forgot to add: In an ideal rise release, how much (if any) brush is involved?

Ken
Good question. IMO a pitcher should get brush contact on every pitch.....the brush happens in nearly the identical place on the thigh regardless of the pitch being thrown (rise, curve, drop, change up, etc.) This is what I see in video of the top pitchers. The difference in upward moving pitches vs. downward moving pitches is relative to what part of the forearm is received by the thigh.

For upward moving pitches (riseball/curveball) the leading edge of the forearm makes the initial contact with the thigh and then the pitcher attempts to resist the remaining internal rotation until the ball is out of the hand (it really is almost impossible to totally resist the IR because of the design/biomechanics of the shoulder/elbow/wrist which is why it is so difficult to throw a riseball with anything resembling 12/6 backspin).

For downward moving pitches (dropball/change up) the inside flat part of the forearm should make contact with the thigh and then the pitcher allows/encourages the natural IR to happen.
 
Last edited:
Jan 18, 2012
44
8
I saw the clip of her during the WCWS. She said it's her riseball grip and her curveball grip. She said for the rise, it helps her get under. She said she palms it for an off speed rise. My daughter came home from the Indiana clinic and tried it. Her revs literally went up 10 immediately. Her speed went way down initially bc of small hands and the fear of losing the ball, but it's slowly increasing -- noticeably more spin!
 
Mar 12, 2009
556
0
Chelsea's spin rates are amazing. I've watched her quite a few times in the last couple years and for the most part, her speed was 58-60 so I really thought that was where she topped out but late this year I noticed her hitting 64-65 at will. I guess she's a lot like Cat and does better/feels more comfortable spinning the heck out of the ball than pitching with all out speed.
 
Chelsea's spin rates are amazing. I've watched her quite a few times in the last couple years and for the most part, her speed was 58-60 so I really thought that was where she topped out but late this year I noticed her hitting 64-65 at will. I guess she's a lot like Cat and does better/feels more comfortable spinning the heck out of the ball than pitching with all out speed.

Chelsea is a "spin queen". A good riseball spin rate for college may range between 27-30 RPS.....Chelsea can spin it 45 RPS. That is why her riseball illusion is so great even at her 57-58 mph. Often times she will hit 66-67 mph but that is not with her riseball grip....it is with a more traditional dropball/fastball grip.
 
Dec 23, 2009
791
0
San Diego
The old dog still has a few tricks up his sleeve...mentioned this thread to DD a couple of weeks ago...showed her the grip picture...she started messing around with it...threw it yesterday for the first time in front of coach...apparently did exactly as described...have a feeling this will be entering the repertoire for fall ball...:rolleyes::D:cool:
 
Feb 3, 2010
5,752
113
Pac NW
I saw the clip of her during the WCWS. She said it's her riseball grip and her curveball grip. She said for the rise, it helps her get under. She said she palms it for an off speed rise. My daughter came home from the Indiana clinic and tried it. Her revs literally went up 10 immediately. Her speed went way down initially bc of small hands and the fear of losing the ball, but it's slowly increasing -- noticeably more spin!


While watching Burroughs warm up before a game, she threw several pitches with a cupped wrist. It tailed away, so I assumed it was a curve. After reviewing the video I took, I realized it was her rise.

A couple weeks ago while warming up DD, I tried cupping my wrist. The ball about took her head off and she asked, "What was that?!?!?" We've played with it briefly a couple times and so far, her spin orientation has improved. Wish I had a RevFire to see if the revs are higher... We'll keep playing with it but I'm curious if others have tried it? [MENTION=8694]javasource[/MENTION] [MENTION=88]Rick Pauly[/MENTION]
 
Last edited:
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
While watching Burroughs warm up before a game, she threw several pitches with a cupped wrist. It tailed away, so I assumed it was a curve. After reviewing the video I took, I realized it was her rise.

A couple weeks ago while warming up DD, I tried cupping my wrist. The ball about took her head off and she asked, "What was that?!?!?" We've played with it briefly a couple times and so far, her spin orientation has improved. Wish I had a RevFire to see if the revs are higher... We'll keep playing with it but I'm curious if others have tried it? [MENTION=8694]javasource[/MENTION] [MENTION=88]Rick Pauly[/MENTION]

The secret is out. :)
 

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