Drop ball drills

[BucketDud]

well, considering I've never played baseball, I can only go on what I've been told by guys that I've played with who DID play baseball, including one who pitched in MLB. What I can say is this, pressure points on the ball can make it "cut' one way or another in both softball and baseball. In my case, I could make the drop cut inward on a RHB but the dominant movement is still the down spin, dropball. If you look up my name on YouTube, there is a game called "Perth Shootout" on there I pitched in 1993 vs Toronto Gators. I was 21 at the time and probably way out of my league playing in such a tournament!!! Toronto went on to win the World championship that year, I came in relief after pitching the semi-final. (the announcers asked why I didn't start and it's cause I threw the semi final and it was simply the other guy's turn!!). Anyway, the first few pitches I threw in that game to the hitter were cutter drops. Then I hung a change up belt high and he RIPPED it. lol. But that video shows the cut drop action.

I hold a simple philosophy: For any pitch, the ball needs to be spinning in the direction of it's movement, this is true in baseball and softball. A BB curveball, spins down and away from the RHB and that's how it moves. A slider is the same thing but faster. Sinkers drop down like a softball dropball. There's no equivalent to a riseball in baseball, except when the ball stays high when the pitcher throws it from the elevated mount. When it doesn't go down to the catcher, it gives the appearance of it "rising".

In softball, the dropball needs to spin forward, regardless of if it's a "turn over drop" or a simple peel. A curve needs to spin sideways, a riseball needs to go backwards. This is what's required for breaking pitches as opposed to forced movement. I was a pretty ok pitcher, but as a RHP, I could never make a ball spin sideways, where it would break into a RHB. And nobody that I've ever worked with or played with/against could either. The best you can hope for is bullet spin. And with all things bullet spin, the most important factor is the angle in which it's thrown.

Fair points. I just think over years of some of the pitchers I coached seemed to have a natural cut to their fastball. But you are correct many of those also had natural drop too.

Also will add the 4-seam FB is probably the closest thing baseball has to the rise. The analysis of Christian Javier during the ALCS made me think that pitch is pretty similar. It doesn't truly rise, but seems to "jump" or "ride" enough late that nobody barrels it up.

 

[ArmWhip]

You have to be careful when you draw parallels between baseball and softball in terms of spin as it relates to pitch movement. The weight and size difference of the ball is a big part of it, plus differences in the velocity and the distance from the rubber to home. Seam orientation in baseball is important, in softball not so much. Here is the pitch/spin chart of one of the better MLB pitchers. Note that the 4 seam fastball and sinker have the same spin but different seam orientation, one floats and one dives down and in. The slider is basically bullet spin, yet it breaks to the arm side and down a little.

Bobby Miller Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics

(2024) Avg Exit Velocity: 92.3, Hard Hit %: 46.7, wOBA: .284, xwOBA: .276, Barrel %: 13.3.

baseballsavant.mlb.com

 

[Hillhouse]

Seam orientation in baseball is important, in softball not so much.

Bobby Miller Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics

(2024) Avg Exit Velocity: 92.3, Hard Hit %: 46.7, wOBA: .284, xwOBA: .276, Barrel %: 13.3.

baseballsavant.mlb.com

I could not disagree more with this. And I don't think any pitcher would agree either.