screw balls in world series

[durwood]

tojo do you know of any pictures or video of the "cut across". thanks

 

[tojo]

Durwood,I do not, but I believe Ernie Parker covers it in his instructional video.If you are familiar with a peel drop, it could be described as a peel by pulling across your body to your left shoulder area instead of pulling up behind the ball. Going towards the left shoulder will result in a down and in on a RH batter from a RH pitcher.

 

[CoachFP]

First of all, how many of you screwball experts ever pitched against hitters that can hit? I am a college coach and I have yet to see a "screwball". I have seen pitchers, some of whom are pretty well known, step left and throw right (rhp to rh batter) with a spin that would suggest the ball should go left (fights the angle of the pitch). These pitches are angle pitches that end up inside on the right handed hitter, nothing else. Cat Osterman doesn't throw one, Tincher doesn't throw one nor does Abbott. The pitch is essentially a slightly slower version of a fastball. If you have to step to the left to get the pitch to go to the right you are losing mechanical efficiency. Also, if you think that giving up 5 runs is a good game in highly competitive fastpitch softball than you must be watching Division 3 a lot. Just go back a year or two, games that we saw this year didn't exist or if they did, they were extremely rare.

 

[tojo]

First of all, how many of you screwball experts ever pitched against hitters that can hit? I am a college coach and I have yet to see a "screwball". I have seen pitchers, some of whom are pretty well known, step left and throw right (rhp to rh batter) with a spin that would suggest the ball should go left (fights the angle of the pitch). These pitches are angle pitches that end up inside on the right handed hitter, nothing else. Cat Osterman doesn't throw one, Tincher doesn't throw one nor does Abbott. The pitch is essentially a slightly slower version of a fastball. If you have to step to the left to get the pitch to go to the right you are losing mechanical efficiency. Also, if you think that giving up 5 runs is a good game in highly competitive fastpitch softball than you must be watching Division 3 a lot. Just go back a year or two, games that we saw this year didn't exist or if they did, they were extremely rare.

I may be wrong but I would say that there were more screwballs than any other pitch thrown in the regionals, super regionals, and the WCWS. I guess all the teams that made it to the field of 64 didn't know what pitchs are most effective. I must be teaching my students the wrong way to throw the screw, because the parents and the students see their screwball breaking.OOPS.Does this make me a screwball expert?

 

[Renntiger]

I dug up some old slow-mo sequences I recorded last year at a Stanford vs UCLA game. Looking through a dozen or so pitches from Langenfeld, it's hard for me to tell from my camera angle which (if any) of those were screwballs. Her release motion was deceptively consistent from pitch to pitch. Nevertheless, the fact that Maddy Coon hit this one with her handle, in front of her body, and the catcher seemed to be reaching for the ball to her left, would suggest that this may have been one of them.

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I tried my best to pan the camera at the same speed as the pitches in order to capture the ball spin, but it was not easy, especially when she changed speed! In fact, the very next pitch following the one above was a change, and I definitely swung too early:

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Langenfeld must have some huge calluses (calli?) on her right forearm and hip from smacking herself like that on every pitch. She definitely closes her hip before her arm can clear, and appears to use the rather violent collision that follows to help complete the last phase of her arm/wrist snap. A bit unorthodox perhaps, but it seems to work for her somehow.

Gene

 

[redhotcoach]

Screwball, I may not understand your description, but if you turn the doorknob it puts a spin on the ball vertically clockwise as watching it go away from the pitcher....a bullet spin, which is about as straight none moving pitch you can throw. Throwing a screw you put a horizontal spin on the ball, tips of fingers pointing toward third then spinning with fingers ending up pointing toward first and many do the little dipsy do of the hand after the pitch. Like slapping someone's face at your waist level. Sorry if I am picturing your description wrong.

 

[CoachFP]

Changing this a bit, how many "drop balls" did you all see thrown during the WCWS? Most pitchers don't seem to own one. Nothing like Osterman or Tincher or even remotely like them.

 

[redhotcoach]

I saw Danielle Lawrie throw some pretty nice drop balls, seem like quite a few for third strikes. Other then that, can't recall anything exceptional.

 

[tojo]

Screwball, I may not understand your description, but if you turn the doorknob it puts a spin on the ball vertically clockwise as watching it go away from the pitcher....a bullet spin, which is about as straight none moving pitch you can throw. Throwing a screw you put a horizontal spin on the ball, tips of fingers pointing toward third then spinning with fingers ending up pointing toward first and many do the little dipsy do of the hand after the pitch. Like slapping someone's face at your waist level. Sorry if I am picturing your description wrong.

I don't think you understand the description but I'll let Screwball explain. Since his name is Screwball and he posted the description. BTW, Screwball, I understand fully.

 

[tojo]

Seems like Bach from AZ.State used the drop quite a bit. Dunn from Ala.and Spaulding from UNC had a killer drop,too.