If you have time after that, go ahead and support his unrealistic dreams and encourage him to beat the incredible odds of making it to the majors. What the hey, there are 800 MLB players, and only 330 million people in the US. I’m sitting here with my 10 year old son chatting baseball. (I’m the mom!) I’ve played softball much of my life, so my baseball IQ is higher than that of most girls, but I still get hung up on some things that are different. Regardless of the velocity it is thrown, the action is the same. Can be thrown hard or softer to act like a change-up.
However, he does possess a top-notch slider that is 10 miles per hour slower than his fastball. If you’ve never seen it, his slider is an excellent, excellent pitch. Though both are delivered at a quick velocity, the 4 seam is much faster.
This can help pitchers generate additional arm side run, especially from higher release points. Another difference you will notice is that the cutter breaks opposite of the two-seamer. If you are a righty, it will break in on the hands of a lefty – or away from a right-handed hitter. The cutter is a great pitch for you to throw on the outside of the zone against a lefty as it will appear to be a ball, but will break back into the strike zone. Again, the mechanics are the same as the four-seamer.
While in the 4 seam fastball, the whole horseshoe seam is held. This will help with getting pitchers to try some new stuff, adjust their grips, and focus more on control and movement. Not sure why this went unanswered, or if you’ll ever see the response, but here’s a free amateur response anyway.
Tom Seaver a Rawlings man who pitched 20 seasons in Major League Baseball was quoted as saying that “ good rising fastball is the best pitch in baseball”. Before we continue, this writer must comment that it is impossible for a human to throw a rising pitch when it is thrown from a 10 inch mound toward a home plate that is 60 feet 6 inches away. However, due to the limitations of the human eye, an elite 4 seamer’s ability to “drop less” as it arrives towards home plate. A batter’s eyes can be tricked into seeing a high velocity fastball rise as it crosses home plate. One of the big misconceptions in baseball is that playing the game keeps you in shape to pitch.
The cutter is not the same as a two-seam fastball – it has a very late break to it and breaks opposite of the two seamer. A biomechanical comparison of the fastball and curveball in adolescent baseball pitchers. Philadelphia’s longest-tenured starter, Cole Hamels also is proud owner of baseball’s best changeup.
Every now and then a pitcher will throw it harder, but still not as hard as the slider. Out of the hand it looks a little like a cement mixer slider. With spin that that is looser than a slider, it can be tough to pick up the rotation early, because there is no red dot in the middle of the baseball. Moves downward, and depending on the release, will sometimes run in on a right handed hitter . To grip a 4 seam baseball, place your index finger and middle finger on the seam of the baseball as the picture demonstrates. This is typically regarded to as the horseshoe seam because when viewed from above, it resembles the horseshoe U-shape.
One benefit of a four-seam fastball is that it is easy to spot because it has no movement. If you are behind in the count and need a strike, this is a great pitch to use. A risk softball slow pitch machine with throwing the four-seam fastball is that it has no movement. If you place the ball in the center of the strike zone, or a batter’s wheelhouse, you can give up a big hit.