Softball down and in pitch

[JJsqueeze]

I was thinking of creative pitches that might be easier for DD learn and this one keeps on popping up in my mind. I remember BM talking about a down and in pitch that seemed to be the underhand equivalent of this pitch, basically a two seamer with the smooth side leading.


It seems to me that if you throw a standard I/R fastball as a two seamer that you will get this type of smooth side leading and can get some in action. I have had DD throw it and it gets the right orientation but I don't see any in movement.

Any Experience with this type of pitch? am I mis-remembering BMs instruction on a two seam down and in?

 

[James Smith]

Is this slowed down that much, isn't that a knuckle ball?

All rules are off for that pitch, no one knows where it is going. The pitch in the video is unhittable, cy young all day long.

 

[Ken B]

I believe both BH and Hal have called this a cutter. This pitch was demostrated to me by John Gay and although I only got to see a couple pitches, I sware it cut to the inside. I have not been able to replicate it on my own.

 

[JJsqueeze]

Is this slowed down that much, isn't that a knuckle ball?

All rules are off for that pitch, no one knows where it is going. The pitch in the video is unhittable, cy young all day long.

No, it is a splitter. I think in the article it said it rotated 5 times during the duration of the pitch so it had a lot more spin than a knuckleball. This is from the Dr. Nathan baseball site in the aerodynamics section and it has a good write up with it that explains why it breaks in a direction contrary to what the spin would indicate. Basically the leading side is smooth and the trailing side has seams in the wind so that produces a magnus force to one side.

 

[SoGASoftball]

Looks like a two-seam fastball with some wicked movement. I haven't seen fastpitch two-seamers with as much movement as in baseball. At the risk of promoting another "I ain't smart = the kinesiology and totally locked up brain squared" thread, I would think velocity has something to do with it...

 

[JJsqueeze]

^^^

that is what I was thinking, that the pitch only kicked in at a certain speed to get the effect. Maybe it is something that needs to be 55 or 60 to get enough force mojo to move that yellow rock. But I have also tried it overhand with a softball and can't seem to get anything going on it. So I just wanted to see if anyone else has played around with this and if so what is the secret.

 

[JJsqueeze]

and not to derail my own thread....but damn that looks late breaking to me

 

[JJsqueeze]

I believe both BH and Hal have called this a cutter. This pitch was demostrated to me by John Gay and although I only got to see a couple pitches, I sware it cut to the inside. I have not been able to replicate it on my own.

I found where you described this exact thing and where BM talked about it basically being the same as standard I/R release but with 2 seams.

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/16976-i-r-screwball-2.html

 

[1bucketmom]

Looks like a Marino Rivera "cutter". Would love to hear the results from tinkering

 

[starsnuffer]

That's why softball is so much better then baseball. In softball we label and define the pitches by how they move, in baseball the pitches are labeled by how the pitcher contorts their fingers. Such a strange world those camo-loving cleat-bangers live in.

-W