Finger pressure???

[X pitcher]

If the index and middle finger are not engaged, what imaprts spin on the ball? Very intrigued by this as my (mis?)understanding to this moment has been that a peel is essentially a fastball with straight 12/6 rotation. In the grips you talk about, does the ball roll down the hands then off the fingertips like:
View attachment 3913

Ken this is a great comparison. No spin restriction like the thumb can restrict the ball from leaving the finger tips. Less grip or hand on the ball allows for more speed and spin. The ball is on the finger tips and not in the palm, so there is little rolling down the hand.
Ken you are learning and get an A+

 

[Ken B]

I'm less clear than before.

I think I misunderstood the other post and thought you meant only the thumb and pinky were in contact with the ball. As I reread your post, I think I understand that you want more of a cupped grip when all the fingers are used, with the pinky opposing the thumb.

Not clear at all on the other grip... Sounds like you don't want two of the fingers touching the ball?

Which fingers impart spin and what does the release feel like? Do any fingers use the seams?

 

[smddad]

Different finger pressure at the release will cause the ball to do different things depending on the grip, spin and speed thrown. Pitchers should experiment and play around with this during pitching clinics. Have some fun with it.

 

[coach james]

I'm seeing it.... "off the table drop" Like a hop in the rise. If it drops 3'-4' in front of the plate. I agree if....

But imagine a hard "off the table drop" AND its moving horizontally a couple inches as well.... that's what a good cutter does

 

[Perfect Circle]

But imagine a hard "off the table drop" AND its moving horizontally a couple inches as well.... that's what a good cutter does

I know your right on that Coach... We're 10u, and drop ball isn't excallty "dead dropping" Any 1 thing or more changing 3'-4' in front of plate...up, down or sideways is awesome !!! thx

 

[starsnuffer]

Wow!?!?
That statement is nuts to me... Your saying a ball dropping straight down is more effective than a ball moving on 2 planes!?!?

To play devils advocate here: Yes, in many cases dropping on one plane is more effective then a ball moving on 2 planes.

Why?

Because the bat swing moves on two planes, especially on a low pitch.

You want the ball to break, ideally, on a plane perpendicular to the plane of the bat through the strike zone. Today's bats have huge sweet spots. A drop curve, for instance, breaks on exactly the same plane as the bat swing, and is not as effective as a straight drop that is moving the ball away from the swing plane ( a drop-curve against a LHB is a different story).

The ball is only going to break or drift so many inches. You want to use all of those inches to get the ball away from the bat. It's the pitchers job to do everything she can to not hit the bat, or at least not hit it squarely if she can help it. Moving from the center of the sweet spot towards the end-cap will result in a weakly hit ball if the ball breaks 8 inches or more then the batter predicts it will break. Breaking 6 or less then what the batter predicts with today's bats will still result in a strong hit. Conversely, the ball only has to fool the batter by two inches in a perpendicular plane to the bat in order to miss the bat.

Now, a straight curve ball thrown low in the zone is also moving on a plane about 45 degrees off the plane of the bat, and it IS an effective pitch (insert old codger rant here), but the break must be as flat as possible and the ball must be thrown at the very bottom of the zone. A mid or high curve is on the swing plane and is not an effective pitch.

-W

 

[X pitcher]

Are you science people experimenting with different grips and finger pressure and different seam alinement?

 

[halskinner]

Some body please explain what finger pressure is, how it works, what it is supposed to do, and where it came from. What grip or grips uses finger pressure. What pitch isn't touched last by the middle finger? Is finger pressure science or art related to pitching. I think it was invented.
I will check for the answers, tomorrow, after the science people do some research and watch videos. Hope you find enough peel drop pitchers to compare, to come to one conclusion.

My bent fingered riseball for one. You can see the grip and the instructions in the'Sticky - Model grips" section above.

 

[X pitcher]

Hal, I think they are talking finger pressure using the peel drop grip. With the back spin rise ball grip using the bent pointer finger to spin the ball backwards the ball still comes off the middle finger...the blister occurs on the middle finger from ball friction. The PC from Penn. brought finger pressure up, and he must be using the 3 finger grip,because he has small hands. I don't think I ever saw his grips for the peel drop.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

The middle finger is not always the last to touch the ball. In BB, some pitches are thrown with the first finger "pressure" the most, and the last to touch. Same with FP, on corner running pitches. You can change the axis of a pitch, finishing pressure change, and two pitches look the same until the last 10 feet. Not much time to change your bat path.

If a drop "drops" 10", and as a batter I've seen it, if I read "drop ball" that's where I'm putting the sweet spot of the bat. If the pitcher can slide the fingers 1/8 to 1/4" on the seams and tilt the axis of the ball, the "drop" now becomes a "running drop" or "drop curve".

We can talk breaking 6" to 12" all day, but the difference hitting the ball square on the money and a pop up or grounder is a little over 1/4 inch. ( less for BB so I'm guessing ) A softball has a tad more "flatning" effect.