Should pitchers be taught a bullet spin fastball?

[Ken Krause]

I think the poster means unexpected to the catcher. Unexpected to the hitter is definitely a good thing!

 

[ArmWhip]

Cat Osterman throws a bullet spin fastball, she calls it corkscrew spin. Nancy Evans teaches bullet spin on her videos. I think that if you are having trouble getting a girl to use IR while throwing a topspin fastball then you should switch to bullet spin. If you are going to throw bullet spin you have to lead with the elbow on the downswing.

There are 2 ways to throw bullet spin, one has the palm facing 3rd at release, I call this a delayed release. In the other, which you see a lot from girls who are trying to throw a curve or rise, the fingers are sliding under the ball while the palm is facing the catcher. Plus you see all variations of tilted bullet spin.

 

[Jojo]

My DD was taught a bullet spin when she first learned to pitch.
By 14U she had to drop it mostly from her arsenal. There was no movement on it all, just fast and straight.
Served her well through 10u and 12u because of her speed, but by 14U, no way, unless you were keeping it off the plate, which is probably where Cat puts it.

 

[starsnuffer]

I don't think any pitch should have an unexpected anything. If the fastball has movement, fine (is it really a fastball then?), but it should be consistent and predictable and the catcher should know exactly where it is going, and so should the pitcher for that matter.

Cat does throw a bullet spin fastball, but how many times does she use it in a game? This is why I don't think there is anything necessarily "wrong" with using bullet spin, there's just no advantages for it.

-W

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

My DD was taught four seam fastball (12/6) spin. Hillhouse argues that your fastball should be the drop ball and from his previous posts does not like bullet spin since by definition it is a flat pitch with little movement. While I can see some benefit to teaching the bullet spin as a precursor to the rise or screwball, its my understanding that you wouldn't want to introduce those pitches until the pitcher is in her early teens. I would also be concerned that teaching bullet spin at a young age might lead to injuries on the elbow and wrists?

 

[Bishop]

Thanks Bishop. What would you attribute to the "odd and unexpected" movement or "weird break" that happens 25% of the time. Is it that the pitch is not a true bullet spin, meaning the pitch is angled (tilted) in relation to its spin. For example, if you throw a true bullet spin fastball the catcher would see a small dot in the center of the ball as it spins (like a bullet) counter clockwise. When you see the weird movement, is it because the pitch has a different spin such as 2/8 rotation (e.g. more like a screwball) than a true bullet spin?

Just trying to understand how bullet spin can have lots of movement since others have said that it has the least amount of movement if thrown "correctly".

I don't know the cause. I wouldn't hazard a guess. I guess according to everyone else I'm just a delusional daddy. Works for me.

See you on the funny farm.

 

[Screwball]

Cat Osterman only throws fastballs on pitch outs. Plus she is old enough that she started with an "old-fashioned" coach who did not have her leaping, from what I read.

Geez.

 

[ArmWhip]

I was surprised when Cat said that her fastball was a corkscrew, she also said that she threw her drop a large percentage of the time which to me is a topspin fastball.

I will say this, I see a lot of bulletspin pitches thrown, most of the time the pitcher will tell you it's her curve, or screw or rise. A lot of pitchers are not aware of exactly how the ball spins when they throw it, they just think 'I hold it like this and throw it like this so that's my curve (or rise or screw).'

I don't see how a bulletspin pitch is going to hurt your arm.

 

[sluggers]

If the fastball has movement, fine (is it really a fastball then?), but it should be consistent and predictable and the catcher should know exactly where it is going, and so should the pitcher for that matter.

Therefore, Hoyt Wilhelm and Phil Niekro should be removed from the Hall of Fame They were knuckleball pitchers, and there re is nothing more unpredictable than a knuckle ball, so, according to your logic, they were terrible pitchers.

My DD had movement on her fastball. It would break between 2 to 4 inches on most pitches. She did not have 12-6 spin or bullet spin on her fastball. The axis of rotation was tiled. She had small hands and she used a two finger grip.

Good catchers never had a problem with it once they realized they had to watch the ball all the way into the glove.

 

[shockcoach]

I don't think any pitch should have an unexpected anything. If the fastball has movement, fine (is it really a fastball then?), but it should be consistent and predictable and the catcher should know exactly where it is going, and so should the pitcher for that matter.
-W

My hitters LOVE consistent and predictable.