Noob Question

[RandomDad]

First off, my DD is 8 and just started pitching less than a year ago, so I've been on a crash course with all of this. I've noticed that when she's throwing good and hard and her mechanics are right, that her ball will drop. I asked her PC about this last night and she said that she will never throw a true, straight, fast ball and that every pitch will have movement as she develops.

So my question is this....Is this a peel drop, a roll drop or just a fastball variation and what is the difference? She has her releasing the ball so the spin is straight (12-6, rolling towards the plate).

 

[RandomDad]

I've heard of pitchers having like 7 pitches. Is there a thread or site somewhere that describes all the various pitches? I by no means want to teach my DD any of these at this point. This is just about my curiosity.

Thanks!

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Bill - no matter what anyone says, every pitched ball has some degree of parabolic arc to it as it goes from the pitching circle to home plate because of gravity and drag on the ball. The more 12-6 spin your daughter generates per second (rps) the more drop it will experience. All things being equal, a 12-6 spinning fastball will experience more drop (i.e. a greater parabolic arc) than say a bullet spin fastball spinning at the same spin rate because of the direction of the spin.

From your descrption above it sounds like your DD is doing all the right things. She is throwing hard, with good mechanics, and generating 12-6 spin. When she has control of the fastball, introduce the flip change. She will be very effective with those two pitches for the next 2 or 3 years.

By the way, Hillhouse argues that your fastball should be a drop ball. I think at 8YO it really does not matter. When she gets older, she can work more on the peel drop and that will become her "fastball". Don't rush things, she has plenty of time.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

I've heard of pitchers having like 7 pitches. Is there a thread or site somewhere that describes all the various pitches? I by no means want to teach my DD any of these at this point. This is just about my curiosity.

Thanks!

Fast-Pitch Softball Windmill Pitching

 

[Sparky Guy]

I've heard of pitchers having like 7 pitches. Is there a thread or site somewhere that describes all the various pitches? I by no means want to teach my DD any of these at this point. This is just about my curiosity.

Thanks!

A pitcher can only have a fastball, change, rise, drop, screw and curve ball. Anything else is a variant of theses basic pitches. There are different ways to throw the same pitch. Most pitchers will never master all of them. Most of the "nine different pitches" bragging comes from parents of younger girls. Once they realize how hard it actually is for a pitcher to make a ball do what they want on a consistent basis that tune usually changes. Especially, after their wiz kid pitcher gets knocked around a few times as she gets older.

If a pitcher has a great drop, good curve and a good change they can be very effective. I believe Bill Hillhouse said in another thread he only threw 3 pitches. He is one of the best at what he does and competes at the international level.

 

[rowdy]

Great comment SoCal. Too many pitchers go right past the change up and never really reach full potential at their position. As far as the number of pitches I don't see why it couldn't be one with variations or ten pitches. Who really cares what you call a pitch so long as it hits the spot it's intended to hit and the batter doesn't crush it.

If you are splitting hairs you must omit a rise ball from the number of pitches because no ball rises as it is thrown. Not enough spin nor enough speed to rise, it just puts spin to reduce the amount of drop.

 

[SoftSocDad]

First off, my DD is 8 and just started pitching less than a year ago, so I've been on a crash course with all of this. I've noticed that when she's throwing good and hard and her mechanics are right, that her ball will drop. I asked her PC about this last night and she said that she will never throw a true, straight, fast ball and that every pitch will have movement as she develops.

So my question is this....Is this a peel drop, a roll drop or just a fastball variation and what is the difference? She has her releasing the ball so the spin is straight (12-6, rolling towards the plate).

Answer? None of the above. It's an 8yo player trying to throw a 10" ball across the plate, because she knows it helps her team and will make Daddy proud.

 

[Rhodyman]

Answer? None of the above. It's an 8yo player trying to throw a 10" ball across the plate, because she knows it helps her team and will make Daddy proud.

Love it! I'm in the same boat with my 8 y/o DD! She doesn't realize how happy it makes me when she says, "Daddy, can we go outside and pitch?"

 

[RandomDad]

Thanks for the site. Like I said, I just asked for my own curiosity. I hear about all these pitches and just wondered how many there were. You said it right on. At 8 yr old, she's happy throwing strikes to help her team win and make daddy proud. I think she is pretty proud of herself too.

 

[Rhino69]

Sounds like she is throwing a 4 seam fastball... those, without a lot of speed, essentially drop. I think that is what you are seeing. That grip allows for the ball to be most accurate. a 2 seam fastball will break to the left, could be down or just away.

Work on the flip change, it will be very effective. Then work on the screwball and curveball. Every kid is different, but my guess is around 13..maybe sooner, work the drop and the drop curve. The last pitch is the rise ball, you have to be physically strong to make that pitch work. A good goal is to have it by a fresh/soph in highschool.

What you will find is that you probably want throw a curve, a drop and a drop curve, but you will use one pitch to work the others. Some umpires won't recognize some of the pitches. Therefore it is nice to have other options in your bag, incase you need them.