Wrist Flexion and Extension

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May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
Say you put a screw into the ball. The screw would be pointing directly back at you with bullet spin. It would move 90 degrees to the side when throwing a drop ball. More wrist flexion through release would be needed to go from bullet to drop assuming equal ir palm up with both pitches. More wrist flexion equals higher velocity - drop ball should be faster? She's having hard time getting more wrist flexion to throw a drop ball when I'm telling her to always stay loose and whippy. Maybe not getting there bc she's not staying loose and whippy?
Wrist flexion can have two meanings: it can be a verb meaning the action of flexing the wrist i.e. wrist snap. Or it can mean having the wrist cupped. Are you talking about snapping or cupping? As of yesterday my understanding of this mechanical action has changed, I used to think that the drop would be faster, now I don't think so.
 
Jan 17, 2020
43
8
Snapping through release. I guess it all depends on how the mechanical action happens. If it is purposely trying to make your wrist snap through release (muscle up with wrist and forearm), I would agree with you. Drop ball would be slower. Now if the arm stays loose and whippy through release and wrist flexion happens naturally, I would disagree. Drop ball would be faster. I'm leaning more towards the drop ball being faster with correct ir mechanics. I think it all comes down to when the ball is released. My dd has more bullet spin. She lets go of the ball too early to take advantage of wrist flexion as a part of ir. She needs to release a tad later. I'm glad I only have to think about it and not do it. LOL
 
May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
I used to think the same way but one thing always confused me, as I posted earlier in this thread, why is it that many high level pitchers throw bullet spin fastballs? Ueno, Scarborough, Finch, Pauly, Garcia to name a few.
 
Feb 3, 2010
5,752
113
Pac NW
Snapping through release. I guess it all depends on how the mechanical action happens. If it is purposely trying to make your wrist snap through release (muscle up with wrist and forearm), I would agree with you. Drop ball would be slower. Now if the arm stays loose and whippy through release and wrist flexion happens naturally, I would disagree. Drop ball would be faster. I'm leaning more towards the drop ball being faster with correct ir mechanics. I think it all comes down to when the ball is released. My dd has more bullet spin. She lets go of the ball too early to take advantage of wrist flexion as a part of ir. She needs to release a tad later. I'm glad I only have to think about it and not do it. LOL
I don’t believe it’s possible to release later if using brush as a trigger. Even without brush, releasing later would result in a much higher pitch.

If she’s struggling to square up the axis and she uses brush, ask her to try brushing more to the middle of her wrist. Keep moving the brush point until she gets 12/6 spin.
 
May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
Snapping through release. I guess it all depends on how the mechanical action happens. If it is purposely trying to make your wrist snap through release (muscle up with wrist and forearm), I would agree with you. Drop ball would be slower. Now if the arm stays loose and whippy through release and wrist flexion happens naturally, I would disagree. Drop ball would be faster. I'm leaning more towards the drop ball being faster with correct ir mechanics. I think it all comes down to when the ball is released. My dd has more bullet spin. She lets go of the ball too early to take advantage of wrist flexion as a part of ir. She needs to release a tad later. I'm glad I only have to think about it and not do it. LOL
I assume you are looking for more velocity and feel that squaring up the spin axis to straight top spin will help. There are several ways in which bullet spin might be faster. We know what IR means, you have the upper arm and the forearm. If the two limbs are aligned on the same axis (elbow locked) then the rotation of the upper arm provides no advantage. If the elbow is bent/flexed and the forearm is off axis when the upper arm rotates there is some force multiplication and an increase in velocity. This is pretty much what we label IR. For a bullet spin release to generate additional velocity something else has to happen. One possibility is that the forearm and the wrist/hand have a little IR action on their own. The forearm can also rotate. We don't generally think of the forearm rotating, instead we call it wrist pronation, but it is the forearm. If the ball is off axis when the forearm pronates you have some force multiplication, just like the IR action of the upper arm-forearm. This adds velocity, the wrist may be cupped a little or flat, but the ball must be off the spin axis of forearm.
The other possibility is that as the hand/ball comes into the release the palm faces 3rd base and at release the hand/wrist goes from a position of radial deviation to one of ulnar deviation. To understand radial to ulnar deviation think of the wrist action you use when you hammer a nail. A bullet spin fastball might have either of these actions or a combination of them. It will take some good high speed photography to figure it out and some ingenuity to teach it.
 
Last edited:
Mar 28, 2014
1,081
113
I think the feel of a flexed wrist for the first half of the circle helps create lag/elbow flexion, which is critical for whip.
This explains something that I just thought about the other day. Lots of Tincher pitchers start with a flexed wrist in the first half of the circle. I never understood why. Now I do.
 
May 21, 2018
567
93
This explains something that I just thought about the other day. Lots of Tincher pitchers start with a flexed wrist in the first half of the circle. I never understood why. Now I do.
I was having the same thought. A local girl who goes to a Tincher pitching coach (very good pitcher by the way), just started doing this and I was curious to why. It looks a little awkward, but this explanation makes sense.
 
Apr 23, 2014
389
43
East Jabib
I was having the same thought. A local girl who goes to a Tincher pitching coach (very good pitcher by the way), just started doing this and I was curious to why. It looks a little awkward, but this explanation makes sense.

Flexed or cupped? Tincher moved a lot of girls to hand under ball on the backswing and up the circle. Want to make sure I understand what you mean by flexed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
May 21, 2018
567
93
Flexed or cupped? Tincher moved a lot of girls to hand under ball on the backswing and up the circle. Want to make sure I understand what you mean by flexed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I meant hand under the ball on the backswing and up the circle. I guess that is cupped?
 
Jan 17, 2020
43
8
I don’t believe it’s possible to release later if using brush as a trigger. Even without brush, releasing later would result in a much higher pitch.

If she’s struggling to square up the axis and she uses brush, ask her to try brushing more to the middle of her wrist. Keep moving the brush point until she gets 12/6 spin.

So don't mess with the release. Makes sense. Just trying to think of ways to help her get to the correct spin for a drop ball. She's been working at spin for a while and just not getting there. I'm probably just messing her up the more I tell her when we pitch. A coach of hers told her to brush the inside of her wrist/forearm for a fastball, middle for a drop and outside for a change. She needs to focus more on feeling the brush and getting more to the middle of her wrist. Thanks for the reminder Ken. Wrist flexion may equally affect the velocity of a bullet spin and drop with it occurring after brush.
 

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