How to Throw Off Speed Pitches Like Johan Santana

Since 2003, Johan Santana has baffled major league hitters with nasty sliders and 95 mph fastballs. But it's Santana's off-speed pitch that has set him apart and made him into a perennial Cy Young Award contender. Santana's circle change-up has been said to "moon walk" its way to the plate making it nearly impossible to hit. Learn how to master this filthy pitch.

Instructions

1. Take your thumb and place it on the inside of a baseball. Grip the ball with your index finger across the seams and your middle and ring fingers on top (knuckles touching the seams). Finally, position the pinkie on the seams on the outside of the baseball (knuckle also on the seams).

2. Throw the pitch with a stiff wrist using the same arm speed as if you were throwing a fastball. Allow the baseball to glide off your fingers towards home plate as you pronate your wrist slightly at the release.

3. Get a feel for the grip of a circle change. The change-up is a "feel" pitch which means that the baseball should feel like an extension of your hand rather than a separate object. According to Jack Currey of the New York Times, Santana will "carry a baseball with him for hours at a time, trying to get comfortable with the feel" of his change-up.

4. Learn to control your pitches. "The thing that makes his change-up so tough is how he controls it," said Yankee star Jason Giambi. "He doesn't bounce it. It just comes to the plate like a fastball and falls off." In addition, Santana can place his 95 mph fastball anywhere in the strike zone making it very difficult for a hitter to sit on either pitch.

5. Talk to Mike Cuellar. Santana learned his coveted circle change-up from the minor league pitching coach while playing for the AAA Twins affiliate in 2002.