Rise vs. Screw

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Hope you were not cursing at me Bill because I agreed except for a pitch:) I threw against some of the best from 1969 to 1985 and then my family and military career picked up. I still pitched until 1995 but not at the elite level. However I have seen a lot of changes and one is the east and west pitching by the lady's I hope what you say is true Bill that the men's game becomes more involved with the elite women's game.
 
Aug 21, 2008
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113
Stan.. no I was cursing at the computer for shutting off and erasing my reply. I was only yelling at you, not cursing. ha ha.

I know men's fastpitch used to be quite popular in the military. "Back in the day" a soldier could get a good assignment if he could play ball. Today, the military doesn't do much of that. There is no more FP softball in the military. What a shame. You are 100% right about most people not knowing, understanding or having seen men's fastpitch. A lot of places I go, people think Eddie Feigner (King/Court) was the best ever. That's like comparing Hulk Hogan to an Olympic wrestler.. one is a show, one is not.

without question, the mens' and women's games are merging. It will take some time but, it's getting there.
 
Sep 29, 2008
1,401
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Northeast Ohio
Hillhouse says:
I had a longer reply but then my browser shut down and it lost. Imagine the swear words coming out of my mouth, then double it.

I've been there and done that. Painful. Now if I am doing anything more than a few sentences I type my reply in Microsoft Word first. Then copy and paste. Much less risky than losing all that hard work.
 
May 4, 2009
874
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Baltimore
I can tell you that as a RH pitcher, a down/in pitch to a RH hitter is one of the best "finish" pitches someone can do. It's not the sexy riseball that everyone goes "oooooh" over but against good hitters, it's much safer and works well when done right.

It's incredibly easy to throw a inshoot drop with simple finger pressure on the ball. It's incredibly dangerous to throw an "outshoot" drop or any kind of "drop curve" that breaks over the middle of the plate. For that matter, it's dangerous to throw ANYTHING over the middle of the plate. And for what it's worth, I have the same argument with people who profess to have an amazing "drop curve" as I do with the screwball. Stepping to the right and pulling over your body to throw a drop to the outside of a RH pitcher is NOT a curve. It's an outside pitch, pure and simple. And in the same manner as the Screwball pitcher, the step to the other side is NOT NECESSARY. All it does is telegraphs the pitch and changes the pitcher's timing/rhythm.

Every girl I have ever seen (which doesn't include Nelson) who says she has a screwball doesn't have what I would consider screwball spin. Screwball spin should be spin that is opposite of a curveball, plain and simple. What I see is either bullet spin or a half baked curveball spin that goes inside to the batter because of the step left/ throw right business. This pitch works in girls softball because the hitters generally can't turn on a pitch using their hips. They usually have some sort of linear swing that makes the inside pitch difficult for them. A lot of them are taught to roll their wrists which also takes away power.
Having a different motion for different pitches, as Bill puts it, upsets a pitchers rhythm and overall control. I also find that the screwball step left actually "screws" up the pitchers ability to throw the other pitches, especially the riseball. When the pitcher is so used to doing that they never really get the step needed and balance required to get under the good riseball.
I have also pitched batting practice to a college team and any ball movement tends to completely baffle them. I am by no means a top flight pitcher but I can make the ball move and girls don't react well to movement pitches because they rarely see them. That's why Cat Osterman's 62mph drop was so good, because she could make it move. By the way she doesn't throw a screwball either.
 
Sep 16, 2009
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I agree with Bill. I have not seen a High School Pitcher who actually gets sideways movement(on a screwball) due to rotation on the ball. I think valuable practice time should be placed with the drop and rise and perfecting those rotations. Then throw those pitches inside!!
 
May 4, 2009
874
18
Baltimore
I agree with Bill. I have not seen a High School Pitcher who actually gets sideways movement(on a screwball) due to rotation on the ball. I think valuable practice time should be placed with the drop and rise and perfecting those rotations. Then throw those pitches inside!!

Well said. A lot of the nonsense that gets tossed around about pitching is by fathers of kids who never pitched anything before, but dream up stuff to teach their daughters.
 

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