Curve Releases

[Perfect Circle]

Fear CT.......

Today At 1:00pm ET... I bet she'll will be back in...

 

[Ken B]

Normal windmill. I think you're trying to infer some type of wrist motion into what you're envisioning. There isn't any, the fingers spin the ball just like any other pitch. What we're really saying when we say "palm down" is FINGERTIPS down. The ball is spun by the fingers in a counterclockwise motion (for a right hander). The rotation of the forearm (internal rotation actually) is in the same direction as the ball is being spun (9-3 as viewed from the catcher). It's actually a pretty simple pitch to throw, all things considered.

-W

I'm not getting it. Tried some last night and ended up with a mess! What does it feel like? Any cues?

 

[X pitcher]

Normal windmill. I think you're trying to infer some type of wrist motion into what you're envisioning. There isn't any, the fingers spin the ball just like any other pitch. What we're really saying when we say "palm down" is FINGERTIPS down. The ball is spun by the fingers in a counterclockwise motion (for a right hander). The rotation of the forearm (internal rotation actually) is in the same direction as the ball is being spun (9-3 as viewed from the catcher). It's actually a pretty simple pitch to throw, all thin

-W

How can the fingers make the ball curve without any wrist twist/motion?
Curves, rollover drops and rise balls use fingers and wrist to spin the ball. Rise and curve spin are different than rollover drop spin. Rise is as pure a back spin as possible 6-12 spin, curve is 3-9 spin. Rollover spin is forward 12-6. The peel drop uses the finger tip to spin the the ball forward with 6-12. There is no wrist or finger twist in the peel drop. Clock talk is as the pitcher's view.

 

[X pitcher]

Answer please?

 

[starsnuffer]

Hold your arm straight out in front of you as if you were were holding an invisible glass. Now, without moving your wrist, move your thumb down and your fingers up. Viola, you just spun a ball.

Now, you're probably going to say, "Yeah, but when I add my wrist to this it spins so much better! What the heck are you talking about you idiot?!?!". The reason for this is that the entire forearm and the wrist is already rotating in the same direction do to simply having good arm whip (see the internal rotation threads). You'll often hear others say that when they throw a fastball with good arm whip, the ball doesn't rotate perfectly 12-6, it's usually tilted to one side spinning 11-7 or 10-5. All you need to do now is just tilt it a little bit more and you have 9-3, cuveball spin.

Ken, if you're having trouble with it, go out to your local slowpitch field and ask the pitchers there. The slowpitch curve ball release is very similar to this. Many TB and HS coaches also use this for throwing soft toss. The only real difference is that you're throwing it from a full windmill.

-W

 

[Ken B]

I'd love to and will try when time allows. Time being the key issue. I tried to take a day off from SB yesterday to do some chores and help DD with her science project: Does a composite bat hit a ball farther than an aluminum bat. We heard a game had been cancelled and the SB field and was open, so off we went.

A 14U team was there practicing. They were all over the project and volunteered a girl and bats, then cleared the field for us. Half the hits went to the fence, which messed up our numbers. Ended up getting DD a snow cone and I threw BP to the team... So much for a day off!

 

[halskinner]

Ken, ever spin a top counterclockwise? Same thing but a much bigger top. You need to spin the ball that fast, same with wrist action..

I will also add, place the leg of a horseshoe between the index and middle finger. Keep ALL the fingers straight, do not curl the pinky or the ring finger and try to keep them pointed as straight down as you can.

If you are trying to do this with open mechanics, good luck with that.

 

[starsnuffer]

Good luck with the science project!

My DD did something similar. What we did was stand on a ladder and drop a softball from a set distance onto a bat that we had held in a vice. We marked the "sweet spot" of the bats and only counted the balls that hit the sweet spot. We used a video camera shooting onto a board with marked distances and reviewed the video to establish the results from different bats. It's not perfect but good enough for a science project.

Good luck!

-W

 

[Ken B]

Does it help to think/feel having the ball come out the pinky side of the hand?

 

[Ken B]

Good luck with the science project!

My DD did something similar. What we did was stand on a ladder and drop a softball from a set distance onto a bat that we had held in a vice. We marked the "sweet spot" of the bats and only counted the balls that hit the sweet spot. We used a video camera shooting onto a board with marked distances and reviewed the video to establish the results from different bats. It's not perfect but good enough for a science project.

Good luck!

-W

We thought about something like that but worried about developing a gadget that would drop the ball consistently on the same spot on the bat and consistent contact on the smooth surface of the ball. We made a mechanical kicking device for my son's soccer ball project (testing the effect of air pressure on distance) but making a device to swing a bat seemed like more work for me and less fun for her. She's gettting together with few friends with matching comp/alum bats. We'll use a tee, similar balls placed the same and alternate bats every 5-10 swings to allow for rhythm. Should be fun.