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Jun 19, 2013
753
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So fellow bucket sitters - what do I want to see when I am catching the curve. DD has been working on her spins close in for about a month now and last night we finally moved back to full distance to throw the real deal. It was dusky and I was having a hard time seeing spin super well - it looked like it was rise ball (angled backward) spin in the low light - but I'm wondering if it's one of those cases where your eyes are playing tricks on you. Didn't move like a rise ball. It seemed to fall off to the outside corner (she is a RHP). Am I looking for a pitch that stays a touch flatter and moves to the outside or is this low outside corner/drop perfect . . .
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
Not what you are asking but put a strip of tape around the ball. Both DD and you should be able to see the spin pretty good.
 
Jun 19, 2013
753
28
Thanks she doesn't like the feel of the tape. We usually mark up balls with sharpie but didn't seem to have any with us last night (although when we got to the car I realized they were in the back but too late).
 
Apr 12, 2015
792
93
Most curveballs will have some degree of backspin to them. This is why I think it's a good pitch to learn while transitioning into the rise.

My DD's spin is usuall somewhere around 10/4. Downside is if she misses the curve, it often getso left hanging in the zone and looks like a beach ball to the batter.
 
Feb 7, 2013
3,188
48
DD's (RHP) curve ball tends to be tilted up bullet spin, as seen by the catcher, and when throw outside to a RHB will move down and away (6 inch break?). To be honest with you, I am not a big fan of the traditional curve ball as it tends to not move as much as we think it does and if you leave it fat and/or flat, it can get crushed. The other issue is most curveballs are the slowest pitch thrown (after the change-up) so you really need to locate the pitch well to be effective.

With that said, DD's team played on Sunday against a curve ball pitcher who painted the outside corner and had an umpire calling strikes outside the river. Our team couldn't adjust to the expanded strike zone and tried to pull every pitch inducing many ground ball outs. However, the only hit we got was a home run over the centerfield fence when the pitcher left the curve ball over the plate.

Lastly, Hilllhouse likes north/west pitches and I tend to agree that for most pitchers, use the curve ball and screwball sparingly. You might be better off focusing your pitching practice on the drop, rise, and change up as 90% of the pitches thrown and then work on off-speed for the drop and maybe a low rise ball.

Good luck.
 
Jun 19, 2013
753
28
Most curveballs will have some degree of backspin to them. This is why I think it's a good pitch to learn while transitioning into the rise.

My DD's spin is usuall somewhere around 10/4. Downside is if she misses the curve, it often getso left hanging in the zone and looks like a beach ball to the batter.

10/4 was what I thought I was seeing but I swear I couldn't tell if it was 10/4 or 4/10 :/
 
Jun 19, 2013
753
28
DD's (RHP) curve ball tends to be tilted up bullet spin, as seen by the catcher, and when throw outside to a RHB will move down and away (6 inch break?). To be honest with you, I am not a big fan of the traditional curve ball as it tends to not move as much as we think it does and if you leave it fat and/or flat, it can get crushed. The other issue is most curveballs are the slowest pitch thrown (after the change-up) so you really need to locate the pitch well to be effective.

Lastly, Hilllhouse likes north/west pitches and I tend to agree that for most pitchers, use the curve ball and screwball sparingly. You might be better off focusing your pitching practice on the drop, rise, and change up as 90% of the pitches thrown and then work on off-speed for the drop and maybe a low rise ball.

Thanks we've been working on RB and DB for a couple years now and both are relatively consistent. CU has gotten better this past summer. So we thought we'd just give this a shot as something to try out over the winter and see if we like it. Seems like coaches generally want one that we've run into so it couldn't hurt to see how natural it felt to her and if we liked the movement. Like you said I'm wonder what the speed might end up being as we go along. I tell you if she can consistently have it arc to that low outside corner I might like it in lieu of CU at times even if it is slow.
 

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