Rise, Drop, Change

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
Any pitcher who wants to play at the highest level must have a competent down ball! It is the one pitch you can leave a full ball on the plate and not get hammered every time. If your only down ball is a change up you will struggle with a hitter that actually reads the spin. That pitch is NOT a change up, it is just a slow pitch with 6-12 spin that a good hitter will square up. Despite your current success as you move up you cannot use a down ball change up to setup the rise or vice versa. Your change up should look like another one of your pitches in terms of spin and spot. Learn to throw a hard drop. That along with a good downward change and rise is a setup for long term success.
 
Jan 28, 2017
1,662
83
I'm curious, in what way was the rise better? Or how do you measure the improvement?

Location was better and some of it had to do with throwing more change ups that really looks like a slower drop/curve,. Changing eye level. Probably threw the rise as hard or harder than her fastball. Normally not as hard.
 
Jul 27, 2015
235
43
This is in regard to the video only. Around the 1:45 mark the coach talks about what pitches the pitcher uses against various batters, and how she really looked at that. She wants to see a smart sequence. That seems really strange to me. How many pitchers call their own pitches? The coach or catcher is the one calling pitches. Don't judge a pitcher as bad because the coach called a terrible series of pitches and/or is super predictable


There is a lot of good info in this video, but I think the list at the 2:20 mark is pertinent to this discussion

 
Last edited:

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
Daddies are easily infatuated with the rise. Back in the day, the rise was a great pitch. Batters weren't very good and they were swinging heavy bats.

But, this is 2019. The rise is really easy to hit our of the park. The batters are so well trained and the bats are so hot that riseballs get murdered by the good hitters.
 
Jul 31, 2019
495
43
The infatuation is very true. With pitch calling as well. Unless you can throw the rise on 2 or even 3 planes it becomes a pitch that good teams lay off of and pummel it if you make a mistake with it down.
 
Jul 22, 2015
851
93
The batters are so well trained and the bats are so hot that riseballs get murdered by the good hitters.

That just isn't true, at least not as such a general statement. Maybe bad riseballs to good hitters or riseballs thrown in the wrong situation or spot, but good riseballs thrown in conjunction with a good mix of pitches do not get routinely "murdered". I've seen plenty of college pitchers with average riseballs have success as long as they are not predictable. Of course, a bad riseball that misses down is a terrible pitch, but so is a curve that stays middle or a drop that doesn't drop.
 
Feb 7, 2013
3,188
48
Yes, work on the drop ball as well. Hillhouse will tell you to work vertically, not horizontally. Drop, Change, riseball...
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,481
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top