Thread: Change up

This may have been covered in a previous thread but...

I have been reading a lot about the use of a back hand change up. I have seen the pitch used by several pitchers at the 14 U level and I think that a good hitter can see it coming. I tell my hitters to watch the release point near the hip and if they see the back of the pitcher's hand and not the yellow ball they know the back hand change is coming. I also see that the ball tends to have arch to it (Some look like a slow pitch throw).

I have been taught and teach a open handed change up (Best way for me to describe it) where the ball is held the same way as a fast ball but is turned off to the right so that the pitchers hand comes through the release like they are reaching out to shake someone's hand. The pitch is thrown with a stiff or "Dead" lower arm (Elbow through wrist) and there is no wrist snap. Speed is 10-15mph slower and falls off the table at the plate.

Just looking for you thoughts about this pitch vs the back hand.

I encountered a little girl (10U) throwing a backhand change up this weekend. The majority of the time, it was for a ball. This was a local rec game, so I knew her father and asked him about her changeup. He said she caught onto it quick... I was thinking if she was throwing the other changeup then she'd be throwing more strikes.

I talked to my coach and pitcher about it, he definitely thinks that a backhand change up is one of the hardest pitches to throw.

I agree the backhand(flip change) is one of the hardest to learn, but I also believe it is one of the best if not the best. When thrown correctly, the flip has little arch and is very hard for the batter to identify. The change you describe is a good change and probably falls off and away from a right hand batter. Whichever works best for the pitcher is the one she should throw as long as it fools the batter.

Out of curiosity, do you think it would be beneficial to learn to throw both of them? Do they look the same or is their a big enough difference in the two styles, when throw properly, to make you want to learn each style?

Ken has an article on softballperformance.com about it.

Originally Posted by amanda_cake

Out of curiosity, do you think it would be beneficial to learn to throw both of them? Do they look the same or is their a big enough difference in the two styles, when throw properly, to make you want to learn each style?

If the pitcher is struggling with the flip change, then yes, I would continue to develop it at practice and use another change that has less difficulty until the flip comes around.

Amanda,

Your post got me thinking...they are very different in how they look at least at the 14U level. I have not looked to see if any of the pitchers in the finals use both and it would be hard to tell W/O slow motion on both. The only change up I've seen from oposing pitchers is the back hand and it works well with inexperienced 14U hitters but our girls are starting to catch on and the pitch is so slow that they can double clutch and still have time to hit it.

From what I have been told, the back hand is both harder to throw and harder on a young arm but this was only one PC'S opinion.

That would definitely be an interesting question to ask pitchers. I think that the different looks of the pitches could be worth adding both to your arsenal.

The back flip change is the most effective of any off-speed pitches. And the most challenging to master. Another post recently made an insightful analysis of unsuccessful efforts to throw it -- that the pitcher isn't rotating the pitching arm around to drag the ball to the release point soon enough.
As far as the hitter picking up on the release, it doesn't make any difference if the delivery is well executed -- it is extremely hard to hit. Despite the slower speed, the high rpm going 6-to-12 will actually slow the ball and make it float in mid-flight, almost like it is rising, and then it eventually drops from lack of speed as it crosses the plate -- very deceptive.
I've seen men at the majors level strike out batters with 3 consecutive changes, in spite of the batters knowing it was coming.
There were NCAA ladies throwing it with some success; in fact I tend to think females are suited better to throw it because of their greater flexibility.
The Spin-Rite Spinner (a plastic disk) is probably the best training tool to develop the backward spin.
jim

Originally Posted by redhawkridge

The back flip change is the most effective of any off-speed pitches. And the most challenging to master. Another post recently made an insightful analysis of unsuccessful efforts to throw it -- that the pitcher isn't rotating the pitching arm around to drag the ball to the release point soon enough.
As far as the hitter picking up on the release, it doesn't make any difference if the delivery is well executed -- it is extremely hard to hit. Despite the slower speed, the high rpm going 6-to-12 will actually slow the ball and make it float in mid-flight, almost like it is rising, and then it eventually drops from lack of speed as it crosses the plate -- very deceptive.
I've seen men at the majors level strike out batters with 3 consecutive changes, in spite of the batters knowing it was coming.
There were NCAA ladies throwing it with some success; in fact I tend to think females are suited better to throw it because of their greater flexibility.
The Spin-Rite Spinner (a plastic disk) is probably the best training tool to develop the backward spin.
jim

Very good decsription of the flip thrown correctly and the effectiveness of the spin and its' result.