Things You'll Need:
- Baseball
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Step 1
Determine your type of changeup. The varieties of changeup depend on the grip of the ball. There is a basic grip for a straight changup, or other types depending on the grip If you palm the whole ball, you are throwing a "palm ball" for instance. There is also the circle change or the forkball. Each of these types of specific changeups should be treated like a different pitch.
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Step 2
To throw a straight changeup, grip the ball with three fingers, rather than the typical two you would use for a fastball. Hold the ball as you would for a fastball, but deeper in you hand, almost in your palm. Gripping it in this way cuts down on the velocity that you would get from your wrist and fingers, making the ball come in slower than a fastball.
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Step 3
Maintain your normal windup and arm motion. The key to a changeup is to make it appear like a fastball up until it is released. You can throw a changeup as hard as a fastball, allowing the grip to keep it from reaching the same velocity. The result is that the ball comes out of your hand the exact same way that a fastball does, only with a different velocity. This illusion is the key to the success of the pitch.
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Step 4
Experiment with different grips. By moving your fingers around on the ball, or adjusting where the seams are in your hand, you can make the ball do different things. The most effective changeups tend to move down and in from a right-handed pitcher to a right-handed hitter.
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Step 5
Keep it down in the strike zone. A high changeup tends to float, making it more hittable. A low changeup often falls out of the strike zone, making it difficult to hit even if the hitter recognizes it.
