Does she throw a "heavy" ball?

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Jun 26, 2018
9
3
Hi there - long time lurker, first time poster. Love the site as it's been invaluable to me to help DD get on her way to getting closer to the pitcher she envisions herself to be.

My question is related to heaviness of a pitched ball. When I catch my DD (14YO), I often get bone bruises right below my pointer and middle finger. I often thought it was just my inexperience at catching but this past weekend in a tournament, I noticed that her catcher wears a padded inner glove when she catches my daughter. I asked the catcher about it and she said she wears it only for my daughter and not for the other pitchers on her team due to the same issue I was experiencing.

What's interesting is that my DD doesn't have the highest speed of the 3 pitchers on her team but she has good spin to where you can hear the seams "sizzle" when she's throwing.

Is this make any sense that a pitcher who doesn't throw 60+ can cause a bone bruise? Does the spin rate have anything to do with it?

Thanks for sharing your experience / expertise.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
We had a pitcher play with my DD's team a couple of weeks ago. Her speed was very similar to our #1 P, but the sound of the ball hitting the catcher's mitt was definitely different. It sounded "heavier".
 

999

May 13, 2015
112
0
Possibly more spin or movement so the catcher doesn’t catch it in the pocket everytime, compared to someone else at the same speed.
 
Jul 22, 2015
851
93
This is usually the result of a ball that moves down or in slightly right at the end. It may not even be enough to notice the movement, just enough to move it out of the pocket. Usually see that type of pitcher induce a bunch of ground balls.
 
Feb 29, 2016
14
1
I’m in the same situation with my 12yo, she doesn’t throw as fast as the other two pitchers on our team but man is it painful to catch her. It’s actually to the point that this old mans shoulder will hurt if I catch her for to long, lol! I think Riseball hit the nail right on the head, my daughter has a lot of dropball spin, even on her fastball, and I believe that’s got to be it. She rarely gives up anything more than a groundball when she’s hit. Now, if she tries to throw something else, and doesn’t place it right, with the slower speed watch out, lol.
 
May 31, 2018
227
43
Allen TX
This is interesting. My DD doesn’t throw the fastest, but definitely has the most spin vs. other pitchers on her team. I catch them all, but I had to go buy a catchers mitt specifically because my DD was hurting my hand. A lot of dropball spin.
 

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