I have a 13 year old lefty who uses the curve as her "go to" pitch, even when she gets down in a count. It has a late break. It's not a strike out pitch, but she can get to an 0-2 or 1-2 pitch very quickly. The problem is her rev spin is only 12-14. When we worked yesterday, she could minimize the use of her thumb or tuck her forefinger and quickly get the spin up to 16-18 but the ball didn't have a late break. Do we keep working on things that increase the spin or stick with the nasty late breaking curve with less spin? I'm not sure if the idea of more spin, more break is holding true for us...
Revfire Spin for curve ball
- Thread starter kaley1
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Like SL said you need to have the right balance of all components. That is why when a pitcher starts getting hit in a game it often helps to get them to focus less on velocity and more on spin. "Relax, don't over throw, spin the ball and get some ground balls so we can hit." They get in trouble and their first instinct is to throw harder. The result is often less movement and they get shelled. I have often had pitchers where their sweet spot was several MPH less than their top velocity. Some of the best pitchers out there can certainly throw high 60's or even low 70's but they know that they are at their best at a somewhat lower speed. That said those numbers need to come up. As you know 12-14 is pretty low. But make sure you do not focus solely on getting to the mid 20's and sacrifice effectiveness.
- May 17, 2012
- 2,816
- 113
They just are different pitches; it depends on what you are trying to achieve.
The late break has less spin but you can throw it faster.
More spin has a bigger break but is thrown at a slower speed.
The late break has less spin but you can throw it faster.
More spin has a bigger break but is thrown at a slower speed.
Yes, she is definitely, at least right now, throwing the curve with LESS spin harder. The more spin, which is slower, just comes across more at a diagonal than a real break. Maybe she just needs to practice it more. I had never heard of curling or tucking the forefinger on a curve, but we watched one of the high school pitchers throw it in the Florida hs championship game.
GunnerShotgun -- why would we have the opposite? more spin isn't getting a bigger break?
What should we be trying to achieve?? Higher revolutions or more outs in front of college coaches? HELP!
GunnerShotgun -- why would we have the opposite? more spin isn't getting a bigger break?
What should we be trying to achieve?? Higher revolutions or more outs in front of college coaches? HELP!
We just had a MAJOR breakthrough, at least I think. I'm at a loss! We've been experimenting with the revfire. When she throws (palm up) with her thumb off, we found major revs. We just got done throwing and her revs were between 20-25 consistently! It's almost absurd...I can't explain it, but it's so very much slower. She is having difficulty going 100% because she feels like she's going to lose the ball. For the ten rev spins we gained, we lost ten mph. Little by little, she was able to throw a little harder, so I'm not sure what will happen... or what should happen??? Is that even normal to throw a palm up curve without the thumb?
Although it is not normal to throw a traditional curve sans the thumb, hopefully the light came on. The less pressure and surface area from the pads the better. The length of time that the pads are in contact with the ball during the release also affects spin rate. Have her get the thumb back on the ball with minimal pressure and see what happens. My DD throws a cutter that she can run in or out and it is all done with finger pressure. Play around with grip and pressure on her traditional curve until you find something that works. Then keep experimenting to find something even better. If you are all in it is a never ending process.
Thanks for your help, everyone. It is a never ending process, and it's frustrating because we just lost our pc to OU. We don't have IR people in our area, and I feel like dfp is all I've got! I simply don't understand why a curve with only 13 revs can break so late and be so effective. I feel like we're trying to fix something that isn't broken, but we'll keep experimenting (Obviously the revs show something is broken).
- Apr 11, 2013
- 52
- 8
DD throws the palm up curve with no thumb...it's one of her two out pitches. She also throws one with the thumb on. The thumb on is faster with less break, the thumb off has significantly more break.
