No sir, 14 in April. She pitches for a 14U A class team and is a little below most A class pitchers as far as speed. Movement and location is better than or equal to the better pitchers. Been stuck at 53-55 for a year.
Fatty Grip
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No sir, 14 in April. She pitches for a 14U A class team and is a little below most A class pitchers as far as speed. Movement and location is better than or equal to the better pitchers. Been stuck at 53-55 for a year.
I feel you with the the stuck part. Mine is 13 last month and we kept her in 12U. Shes gained a WOPPING 1 MPH this entire past year. She throws 51-52 pretty consistent mixing in some 53s now too.
If she can throw a good palm up curve why are working on a thumb off curve? If she can throw a good PU curve it makes it easier to transition to a rise. If she can't then trying the thumb off rise is a good alternative. I feel that the thumb off grip favors pitchers with small hands. I would expect a speed loss with either rise.
She throws a good palm up curve. I thought the thumb off grip (fatty) was for kids with smaller hands and looking for a complementary off speed pitch to go with her palm up curve. Just looking to get an advantage. The drop curve is going to really complement her change. She is pretty advanced to not be a flame thrower.
- Aug 21, 2008
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Respectfully, I cannot disagree more. The thumb off means the ball is probably being cupped in some fashion which means a TON of extra hand on the ball. It also means the wrist is likely to turn, with curveball action. With the thumb on the ball, it doesn't have to be sucked all the way back into the palm. But again, I know there are pitchers who have successes with this grip and maybe your kid will be one of those. I have tried it myself and can't do it without my thumb, but that's just me. I get a highly off speed spinner pitch that kinda floats, maybe a slight curve to it.
Personally, I have absolutely no idea on speeds.. what is good, what is bad at what ages. But I have never believed the 55mph myth for riseballs. I am sure there is a magic number for the speed that makes the riseball do it's thing. But 55 is very high IMO. Obviously the faster, the better. But I have no idea what the minimum is. When I throw BP, I can guarantee I'm not throwing 55 mph and still throw riseballs with pretty good results.
Bill
- Nov 18, 2013
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It might be beneficial to shelf three or four of her pitches. I lost count, but I think you’ve mentioned seven or eight pitches she’s throwing. That’s nuts for any age and will greatly hinder a 13 yo trying to keep up with all those. Let get her speed up and master two to three before taking on more pitches and grips. .
Throws a drop (fastball), curve, change, and rise. Sometimes never throws a drop during the inning. 81 % strikes on the year. Rise is the least used and more to just get them from leaning over the plate. Nothing down the middle and we have calls for two balls off and one ball off. Very accurate with those. I know it sounds like a dad but she has great control. She was at 55 on her 13th birthday. Then some health issues and is mostly around 53 now and will be 14 in April. Middle school season is over and no TB for awhile. Played around with 3 new pitches (two of them new grips not pitches). Only done it once to see. I knew the drop curve would be good because her change is very similar. Only did walk throughs with it. I really don't think the fatty grip is a different pitch but just a grip. Probably going to scratch it for now though. Not sold that you need it and it wasn't natural for her. We worked speed the entire practice yesterday. Speed will be our focus and clocking her with every drill. Yesterday was actually the 1st time I have every clocked her. All the readings have been from a dad or playing on a college field or camps. Never been big on clocking her but going to put an emphasis on it to see if it will help.
- Sep 29, 2014
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@MNDad stole my comment...She is 14 she has 4 pitches. Now you want to see about introducing a few more? Then you say she doesn't throw the drop some innings and the rise is used less than that. So the majority of her pitches are curves and change ups? At this point I would really suggest mastering what you have on her plate, the only thing I would even consider at this point might be a screw ball or whatever you want to call it that breaks the opposite direction of the curve it might even be as easy as just trying to put a tail on her drop ball. I don't think you are going to run into many D1 or professional pitchers that say the key to my success was throwing 7 or 8 different pitches. If you can move the ball each direction side to side and up and down and change speed 5 pitches is probably more than plenty just my opinion. The problem I see when girls try and fill their plate with a bunch of pitches is they lose consistency which is a must when pitching. Also if the drop really drops and isn't a flattish fastball she should probably be throwing it more.
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- Nov 18, 2013
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Sounds like she’s progressing nicely. Also sounds like you’re as objective as a Dad can be about where she is. My only advice would be to slow down and let her develop at her own pace. Her speed is pretty good. If she can get her drop into the upper fifties and mix in a great change up and curve she can be an elite pitcher. Sounds like shes close. Try to be patient and she’ll get there.
I'm going to play devil's advocate a little here and defend Tango.
#1 - Who is to say you don't find a pitch that is natural to the kid and is devastating to batters in the process of trying some new grips/pitches? Don't know unless you try so try a new pitch now and then even if you have 4 good ones already. You may find one that replaces one of the 4..
#2 - Nothing like some experimentation to keep things fresh and interesting for a pitcher. My DD gets excited when trying a new pitch. Becomes extra engaged. Trying some new grips/pitches now and then can pump some freshness into her workouts. Might not find anything new for the arsenal but at least she had some fun in the process. It's not like having a fun workout now and then is going to kill their development when they're 14 and already playing A ball. Have a little fun with pitching workouts now and then. It's not like we're talking life or death here. It's supposed to be fun. Keep your DD engaged. Keep her mind open to new things.
