Palm up curve-how flat is the spin?

[JJsqueeze]

Is the palm up curve spin of 9-3 a reality or is it more like a rise ball where there is an ideal but in reality it tends to be off axis a little?

Just benchmarking here so I can set realistic goals and know when to say good pitch.

 

[Ken B]

Unlike a RB with perfect 6/12 spin, I believe a palm up CB with 9/3 spin is much more possible. However, just like 6/12 RB spin, the closer you get to a perfect, perpendicular axis, the less speed you can get. The trick (IMO) to get perfect 9/3 spin is to exaggerate the feeling of pointing the diamond on the ring finger at the target. The cue of pulling the outside of the ball from out to around the front of the ball is the key. The middle finger should lead and the thumb should trail. The ball should roll off outside of the middle fingertip.

 

[starsnuffer]

It's easy to get this to spin perfectly perfect. That said, being able to tilt the hand just a bit to give an up/out or down/out break is very very easy to do.

The BIGGEST problem is if the pitcher releases the ball too far out in front of their body and they tend to "show their palm" to the batter, which causes a variation of bullet spin. Keeping a good angle of the spin in line with the stride/landing leg goes a long way to help here.

-W