Two Seamers

[sjw62000]

Thank you to everyone for their insights on the 2 seam. DD is first year 12U pitcher who is struggling with her change-up (turns into a meatball that even mediocre hitters can drive). She can throw her 2 seam very well and depending on her release it does different things, but even she isn't sure what it's going to do. I am going to try to use some of the advice here to help her understand what makes this pitch move and how to understand it.

 

[riseball]

So I just finished this epic thread. I was wondering if 2.5 years later anyone has anything else add...tips/tricks/how your DD is currently throwing her 2 seam. I'm gonna give the 2 seam a try with my daughter this week.

Do not overthink this pitch. Fingers inside the ball, fingers outside the ball. Adjust the grip to get the proper orientation of the seams. It is truly that simple.

 

[mmeece]

Do not overthink this pitch. Fingers inside the ball, fingers outside the ball. Adjust the grip to get the proper orientation of the seams. It is truly that simple.

That simple. The reason so many have mentioned that it "does different things" is because the pitcher is releasing it differently. Consistently having fingers inside will give a right-handed pitcher movement in to a right-handed batter and vice-versa

 

[DrRiello]

Let me throw a wrench here and see how it goes.
My dd throws a 4 seam fastball not at 12-6 which may change the discussion. Her drop moves 12-6 but fast ball is more bullet like. We have been throwing a 2 seam curve using the same or similar release as her fastball with good success. Moves away and down to a righty.
Any thoughts on this? Just curious. Maybe we will toy with a 2 seam dropper.


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[DrRiello]

Worked on the 2 seem drop just before. It’s looks funky man. Definitely deceptive. Pretty neat.


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[sluggers]

@riseball is the expert on this pitch, but I've been doing some research on this pitch.
(I started as a Doubting Thomas on this, but I'm about 90% convinced it is the real deal.)

Let me throw a wrench here and see how it goes.
My dd throws a 4 seam fastball not at 12-6 which may change the discussion. Her drop moves 12-6 but fast ball is more bullet like. We have been throwing a 2 seam curve using the same or similar release as her fastball with good success. Moves away and down to a righty.
Any thoughts on this?

So...here is the deal:

Few college level pitchers throw true drop balls, true rises, true curves. The dominant pitch in NCAA softball is the bullet spin pitch.

A bullet spin pitch with down and away movement is the equivalent of a baseball slider.

It is possible to get a bullet spin pitch to break in different directions by applying finger pressure differently.

You need to watch this video of Lauren Haeger:

Another good video to watch is of Bob Gibson explaining how to throw a slider.

While this is all great, there are only so many hours in a day, so:

CAUTION: A lot of Daddies go down a rabbit hole by pursuing different pitches. The single most important factor for success is control, not speed and not movement. Daddies and DDs don't like to hear this...because working on control is boring, hard work.

Real control is the ability of your DD to move the ball around the strike zone in 2 to 3 inch increments.

So, you have to balance pursuing a breaking pitch with the absolute requirement of developing control.

@riseball tells a great story about control and his DD. His DD is practicing by throwing at a rope with a knot in it. She is hitting the knot consistently. He says, "Good job, honey!" She says, "Not really, I'm trying to hit the knot on the left side to make the rope go to the right."

 

[DrRiello]

@riseball is the expert on this pitch, but I've been doing some research on this pitch.
(I started as a Doubting Thomas on this, but I'm about 90% convinced it is the real deal.)



So...here is the deal:

Few college level pitchers throw true drop balls, true rises, true curves. The dominant pitch in NCAA softball is the bullet spin pitch.

A bullet spin pitch with down and away movement is the equivalent of a baseball slider.

It is possible to get a bullet spin pitch to break in different directions by applying finger pressure differently.

You need to watch this video of Lauren Haeger:

Another good video to watch is of Bob Gibson explaining how to throw a slider.

While this is all great, there are only so many hours in a day, so:

CAUTION: A lot of Daddies go down a rabbit hole by pursuing different pitches. The single most important factor for success is control, not speed and not movement. Daddies and DDs don't like to hear this...because working on control is boring, hard work.

Real control is the ability of your DD to move the ball around the strike zone in 2 to 3 inch increments.

So, you have to balance pursuing a breaking pitch with the absolute requirement of developing control.

@riseball tells a great story about control and his DD. His DD is practicing by throwing at a rope with a knot in it. She is hitting the knot consistently. He says, "Good job, honey!" She says, "Not really, I'm trying to hit the knot on the left side to make the rope go to the right."

Great if on. I’ll check it out.

My dd 2 seam “curve” may end up being a big pitch for her. It moves. We will keep experimenting.
Thank you


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