A Telltale Game...

Was watching a game last evening... and figured the good people at DFP might offer their help to a freshman pitcher for Texas, Erica Wright. She's a talented kid, no doubt... but when watching her pitch... it became quite evident that she has a significant TELL while pitching.

Now, you can download the gif's if you want... and review them frame-by-frame... but before you do so, try and figure out what her tell is at game speed.

The Arkansas coach, Mike Larabee picked up on this tell... and would scream it out to the batter everytime it happened. I found myself doing the same thing after the second inning every time it happened... only to go back and review the video.

So... hopefully a Texas alum, coach, or even Erica stumbles on this post (if they don't already know what she is doing).. .so that Erica can level the playing field a bit and continually experience growth.

I've included four of her pitches for you all:

1. See if you can identify each pitch... for your own entertainment, responding with your answers (left to right, top to bottom).
2. See if you can pick out her tell... and list that.
3. Don't cheat! It's quite obvious.

Perhaps we can get some posts with video of TELL's... I'm sure FFS has enough footage to contribute...

To my lame eye.... Her drag foot remains on the ground in the last pitch. The first three she kicks up the drag foot. Even before the kick out.... In the slower pitch the drag foot never loses contact. Hmmmmm
Gym step and kick out = speed?

top left rise
top right screw
bottom left curve
bottom right change

she tells her rise her arm circle comes in front of her face on the upswing but does not on the other pitches


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She slows her backswing and arm circle on the changeup

You can see her"pressing" her grip and bringing the hands above her head on changeup vs the chin.

On the CU theres no second hop of the plantfoot. Her leg drive is less as well.

1. Rise
2. Screw
3. I think a curve...
4. Change

Her right foot comes off the ground at different heights with each pitch?

KCPRK said:

She slows her backswing and arm circle on the changeup

You can see her"pressing" her grip and bringing the hands above her head on changeup vs the chin.

On the CU theres no second hop of the plantfoot. Her leg drive is less as well.

Click to expand...

I did not notice that

In her pre-motion, she lifts her hands together at or above head height on her change, the other three pitches it only lifts to chest-high, or so...

rise, screw, curve, change

( I say "rise" because the pitch traveled low-to-high, but the ball probably had bullet-spin. ;-)

The opposing coach was audibly calling the pitch as she was throwing it?!!
I suppose that's one way to try and rattle a freshman...

looking at it again she does tellegraph her change her whole mechanics slow down and the glove height does change to higher position when she throws it

I don't think as a batter you're going to notice what I thought was the tell nor are you going to notice the lack of a second hop. You're watching the ball at that point, not worried about what the pitcher does after she let's go of the ball.

Has to be how high her hands are coming up.