Elliot
The screwball can be effective as a rise-screw or a drop-screw. I teach simply setting up the new powerline as described in my earlier post and then depending on your preference use either rise spin or drop spin. The cutter described that Hillhouse uses is probably a version of a peel drop where the wrist hasn't quite gotten to its normal peel position---thus the ball tends to spin down and slightly to the inside. The finger pressure is a way of achieving this spin. It is very effective. I don't encourage twisting the wrist to try to effect inward spin----I worry about the safety of doing this and really haven't seen this type of wrist action really add any inward movement to the ball.
A good/safely thrown drop-screw has some of the illusionaly tendancies of a riseball. It appears to be "breaking" into the batter when in effect it was really thrown at an angle into the batter and the cut-drop spin adds some to the illusion.
It is a great pitch!!!!! And I encourage pitchers to learn it, but do it safely.
Rick
The screwball can be effective as a rise-screw or a drop-screw. I teach simply setting up the new powerline as described in my earlier post and then depending on your preference use either rise spin or drop spin. The cutter described that Hillhouse uses is probably a version of a peel drop where the wrist hasn't quite gotten to its normal peel position---thus the ball tends to spin down and slightly to the inside. The finger pressure is a way of achieving this spin. It is very effective. I don't encourage twisting the wrist to try to effect inward spin----I worry about the safety of doing this and really haven't seen this type of wrist action really add any inward movement to the ball.
A good/safely thrown drop-screw has some of the illusionaly tendancies of a riseball. It appears to be "breaking" into the batter when in effect it was really thrown at an angle into the batter and the cut-drop spin adds some to the illusion.
It is a great pitch!!!!! And I encourage pitchers to learn it, but do it safely.
Rick
