more Dallas E.

[SoCalSoftballdad]

I didn't personally consider that pitch to have late break, but basically thrown high. I believe it was pitches like this that had Michelle Smith referring to Escobedo as being "Effectively Wild".

FFS - totally agree with you that there is no sharp, late break. All I see is a high rise ball thrown inside with a lot of speed that gets the batter chasing the pitch out of the strike zone.

If you get a chance, can you also post some video of elite Men's fastpitch pitchers so we can compare and contrast to the Women. If you buy the argument that the baseball swing is essentially the same as the softball swing, the same might be true of the Men vs. Women's windmill pitching motion.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

SoCalSoftballdad, while male FP pitching rules are currently different (I expect that to change in the future), I personally believe a lot can be learned from reviewing male FP pitchers.

PM me some Youtube examples and we'll create some GIFs.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

SoCalSoftballdad, while male FP pitching rules are currently different (I expect that to change in the future), I personally believe a lot can be learned from reviewing male FP pitchers.

PM me some Youtube examples and we'll create some GIFs.

I'll try to send you some examples for posting this week.

Agree that the men's pitching rules allow things like "leaping" for example, but what might be most interesting is the way they use their arm circle and whip to generate a tremendous amount of speed to the pitch. I also like the way most of them hide the ball and grip; with both glove hand and pitching hand going back together to one side instead of seperated. Maybe our DDs could learn a thing or two from the men's game?

 

[Ken B]

I didn't personally consider that pitch to have late break, but basically thrown high. I believe it was pitches like this that had Michelle Smith referring to Escobedo as being "Effectively Wild".

Apologies--It was meant to be a little facetious in that after they started using K-Zone, it seemed like she mentioned rise balls with "late break" less often.

 

[sluggers]

After looking at Escobedo, it appears that her riseball sometimes has an upward trajectory when it reaches the plate. This may explain why she had so much success with the rise. (For clarity, that does *NOT* mean the ball is jumping.)

A woman's rise usually flattens out at the plate, making the rise somewhat a risky pitch against good hitters. (Lisa Fernandez loved hitting riseballs.) I've never seen a woman the upward trajectory on the rise at the plate, although I have seen male pitchers do it.

 

[Lozza]

I also like the way most of them hide the ball and grip; with both glove hand and pitching hand going back together to one side instead of seperated

That has now been outlawed in int play.

 

[starsnuffer]

After looking at Escobedo, it appears that her riseball sometimes has an upward trajectory when it reaches the plate. This may explain why she had so much success with the rise. (For clarity, that does *NOT* mean the ball is jumping.)

A woman's rise usually flattens out at the plate, making the rise somewhat a risky pitch against good hitters. (Lisa Fernandez loved hitting riseballs.) I've never seen a woman the upward trajectory on the rise at the plate, although I have seen male pitchers do it.

I honestly believe this is attributed to the pure speed of her pitch. Imagine a pitcher throwing 68 and throwing the ball about 90-100 feet. If the plate is somewhere in the middle, the trajectory is pretty flat at this point in the balls motion. Now take a pitcher throwing 74mph, and she's throwing 120-130 feet. With the plate at 43 feet, the ball has not reached it's apex yet and is still "moving upwards".

-W

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

That has now been outlawed in int play.

Interesting. Can someone confirm this or site the rulebook. I know Hillhouse is a big proponent of having the ball hidden by the glove on the back swing so as not to tip off the grip until the last second. He also argues that having the glove and pitching arm going back on the same side, gets the whole upper body going towards the target during the stride. Most (not all) of the clips I have seen of men pitchers use some variations of this technique and thought it might be advantageous to introduce it to my DD. If this is something that will be outlawed in the U.S. I certaintly don't want to have her switch right now if she is going to have to convert back to the old way in a few years?

 

[Hillhouse]

That has now been outlawed in int play.

Lozza... you're only 1/2 right here. This has been outlawed when talking about a pitcher that is leaping or crowhopping. There is a MAJOR distinction between what is legal and not legal in regards to keeping hands together!!!!

Bill

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Lozza... you're only 1/2 right here. This has been outlawed when talking about a pitcher that is leaping or crowhopping. There is a MAJOR distinction between what is legal and not legal in regards to keeping hands together!!!!

Bill

Hi Bill, are you saying that having the glove hand and the pitching hand go back together is legal in international play? Also can you recap again the advantages to having both hands go back instead of separated on the back swing? I think the women's game might benefit from watching the pitching techniques of the best men pitchers in the world.