How to pitch a...

[Hillhouse]

i've told you before that i throw a slider in slowpitch... with a forehand release... I've followed weeknight ace since he started posting and I know he gets what he says he gets... just last night I had 2 people from the opposing team telling me about how my pitch starts out aimed right at them and curves in and hits the mat... i have umpires estimate that I get about 18 inches of movement... and it's all with what you would call yawed bullet spin... i don't blame you for being skeptical because very few pitchers know about it... but you can believe it's true... I've been throwing this pitch for 30 years... so how ridiculous is that?

Well then, I stand corrected. If what you say is true, then I know even less about slow pitch softball than I had originally thought. And that's really saying something because I thought I knew NOTHING about it.

I do not understand how the gravitational pull when the ball is coming down from it's arc does not overtake any other movement that is being attempted. I would've thought that even a knuckleball, and assuming it had zero rotation giving it the full knuckleball effect, would be overtaken by gravity.

There's not much else to say except to repeat myself, if what you say is true, then I am dead wrong about it. It seems hard to fathom that a ball being pitched in slow pitch, first being thrown up high and then it falling with gravity can have more so much movement. It sounds like your pitched ball has more movement than a lot of fastpitch pitchers balls.

WiLD53, do you play on one of the big time slow pitch teams? Just like in men's fastpitch, I know there are slow pitch teams with giant sponsors who not only fly their team around the country but, also pay the better players a lot of cash. A LOT of cash. You mentioned that not too many other pitchers know these tricks that you do, I would think you'd be pretty valuable to one of those big sponsors with your ability to make the ball dance so much and get outs.

 

[WiLD53]

WiLD53, do you play on one of the big time slow pitch teams?

no... i've always played in rec leagues with some tournaments when I was younger... to be honest, I've been laughed out of a couple of slowpitch sites because, like most of you, no one believes it's true... i happened on it accidentally and threw it for 20 years without knowing what made it curve... when I found out, I was able to refine it and teach it better... i have at least 2 people online that learned it and use it and several people who have taken clinics I;ve given but as I've said... it's still slowpitch softball... hitters are going to hit... it's just about making it a little harder... i suppose if everyone knew how to throw this pitch, it wouldn't be as effective for me... one guy is on an over 75 team back on the east coast and he's tearing it up with this slider...

so you see, I'm used to the skepticism... i just don't have any way to convince anyone without them standing at the plate and watching me throw it...

 

[Hillhouse]

no... i've always played in rec leagues with some tournaments when I was younger... to be honest, I've been laughed out of a couple of slowpitch sites because, like most of you, no one believes it's true... i happened on it accidentally and threw it for 20 years without knowing what made it curve... when I found out, I was able to refine it and teach it better... i have at least 2 people online that learned it and use it and several people who have taken clinics I;ve given but as I've said... it's still slowpitch softball... hitters are going to hit... it's just about making it a little harder... i suppose if everyone knew how to throw this pitch, it wouldn't be as effective for me... one guy is on an over 75 team back on the east coast and he's tearing it up with this slider...

so you see, I'm used to the skepticism... i just don't have any way to convince anyone without them standing at the plate and watching me throw it...

well, if the ball moves like you say, then I won't stand in the box either to face it. I do a good enough job making an a$$ of myself, I don't need help.

May I ask, what makes you hang out on a fastpitch pitching forum?

 

[ArmWhip]

What surprises me is that a ball moving that slow could actually curve. After thinking about it I realize that it is not SSW but the usual Magnus effect that causes the break. The faster an object moves the more momentum/inertia it has, so the amount of force that causes it to move from it's trajectory goes up. The Magnus force increases with speed. But maybe the increase in velocity outpaces the increase in Magnus so a slower moving ball would move more than a faster moving one, if the RPM's are the same.

 

[WiLD53]

well, if the ball moves like you say, then I won't stand in the box either to face it. I do a good enough job making an a$$ of myself, I don't need help.

May I ask, what makes you hang out on a fastpitch pitching forum?

it's not like it's going to hurt if it hits you bill... in slow pitch, if the ball hits you, you get laughed at...

i wouldn't actually say I hang out here... i only have 45 comments in over 5 years...

but to answer your question, I developed tendonitis when I was 20 and I found that warming up windmill style loosens everything up better than just going straight to overhand throws... i found that I had a small left-to-right curve for no apparent reason much like my slider in slowpitch...

once I discovered the physics behind it, I was also able to refine both my slowpitch slider and my fastpitch 'screwball'... it was just a matter of holding the ball in a slightly different location... after going to 3 or 4 slowpitch sites where I took a lot of grief trying to tell everyone about this, I decided to check out fast pitch since I knew it worked with that as well...

i searched and found this site and after reading a lot of threads on pitching and movement, and seeing all the coaches and instructors in here, i found a lot of you knew bullet spin pitches had some movement but I didn't see where anyone knew why... so I joined and tried to pass along this knowledge of the physics to all of you with, I might add, a bit more success than I had with a couple of slow pitch forums... seems no one thinks a ball moving that slow can curve and frankly, trying to make it curve just from spinning it in slowpitch may get you 2 or 3 inches of movement so it's hardly worth it...

sluggers was the first to see it and helped out by starting a thread with the video I had shared on another thread... i know you have always been skeptical about my claims... join the crowd... but trust me... I'm not here trying to deceive anyone... I'm trying to spread some info that I think may help... younger kids who can't throw with the correct spin may find this easier to learn and use... and truthfully, I think it might even be better to be able to throw both ways...

I have at least 2 people here who claim to have found this works and are exploring it further...
well, this is already too long... sorry for bending your ear...

 

[WiLD53]

What surprises me is that a ball moving that slow could actually curve. After thinking about it I realize that it is not SSW but the usual Magnus effect that causes the break. The faster an object moves the more momentum/inertia it has, so the amount of force that causes it to move from it's trajectory goes up. The Magnus force increases with speed. But maybe the increase in velocity outpaces the increase in Magnus so a slower moving ball would move more than a faster moving one, if the RPM's are the same.

exactly my thinking... like everyone else, i was pretty surprised when I first started throwing this slider... especially since I wasn't spinning it like we are all used to seeing on movement pitches... but, because I was the only one who had it, I figured i'd stumbled onto something... but yeah... something moving that slow, it's hard to believe you can make it move so easily without spinning it but with proper orientation of the spin in relation to the direction the ball is moving... in other words, yawed bullet spin... who knew?

 

[Northball]

actually, most leagues have homerun rules and monster hitters are not that common... most league players are just guys getting off work and playing ball... and we don't run out home runs to save time since we're on a clock... no doubt about it... slow pitch is a hitters game... but if you don't think a pitcher can influence the outcome at all other than fielding the position and throwing strikes... then you'd be wrong... but again... it's a hitters game... there's nothing anyone can do about that... but if you can make it tougher, then you can influence it... i will never compare how much influence I have over a game compared to a fastpitch pitcher, but movement pitches are a reality in slow pitch... and it makes it harder on the hitters... that's all... not impossible... just more difficult

I think we pretty much agree, you just said it better than I. The hitters have more influence over the game than the pitchers. I don't doubt the ability to make slow pitches move and it can affect the final score. I remember even at my church league level not being able to square up on certain pitchers as well. But unlike fastpitch, you don't see a pitcher dominate a game and get double digit strikeouts.

 

[uncdrew]

I literally got a few minutes into this before I realized it was slow pitch. LOL. At the very first, I was trying to figure out who this guy is.

When I saw all his other pitches at the bottom of the screen, I immediately rolled my eyes. lol. Slider? Knuckleball? Screwball? While I know there are a lot of people who teach young girls that these pitches exist and are part of their 9 pitch arsenal so at first I didn't realize this was slow pitch.

Once I realized it was slow pitch, my first thought was: the only thing more ridiculous than a fastpitch pitcher thinking they can throw these pitches is a slow pitch pitcher trying to do the same. I mean, really? Movement pitches in slowpitch?

I remember showing up to a game one night, on another field at the complex was a men's slow pitch game. I remember this vividly because I can remember how hard I laughed out loud... it was the last inning or so, the offense had a runner or 2 on base. The pitcher, again this was a slow pitch game, was very animated and really wanting to win this game. In the process of trying to pump up his infield and team to get the final out, he said out loud: "I need to bear down and get this guy!!!!" I laughed so hard at that my legs got wobbly. How does someone bear down in slow pitch pitching? I don't remember the outcome, I was too far gone in hysterics.

Nice find RAD.

Yeah, they play on the fields were me and DD work on pitching. So during breaks and such we watch.

My observations on how to be a good slow pitch pitcher:


1. Work on pitching the ball as high as you possible can. Have it land on the plate coming straight down. <-- assuming this is allowed
2. Wear a bright gold metalic football helmet. Seems to make the other team distracted

 

[RADcatcher]

Odd coincidence to me posting anything slow pitch. Two nights ago waiting to do team training. On the neighboring field watched some men's slow pitch league.
( no fancy pitching though)
And watched a batter strike out looking...
really, Yikes

So theres that

 

[RADcatcher]

2. Wear a bright gold metalic football helmet. Seems to make the other team distracted

Watching that mens slow pitch game two nights ago a pitcher was wearing a pink tutu. Literally!