How to Throw an Ankle Bending Curveball

The curveball requires your two top fingers gripping the ball to rotate over the top of the ball during its delivery.

Few pitches in baseball can flummox opposing hitters quite like a curveball. For a well-pitched curve, the sharp drop and break of the baseball leaves hitters off-balance. Sometimes hitters will bend their ankles, wondering if they need to duck as the pitch comes in high. But then the motion of the curveball takes the ball down across the plate, leaving the hitter looking foolish. Throwing a quality ankle-bending curveball requires proper grip and wrist action upon release.

Things You'll Need

• Baseball
• Catcher
• Hitter

Instructions

1. Hold the baseball so that the two seams are running parallel along the top. Place your middle finger along the outside seam. Your index finger lies next to it on the baseball. Your thumb slides underneath the baseball while your other fingers do not grip the ball.

2. Begin your pitching motion, concealing the baseball in your mitt as long as possible. This keeps the hitter in the dark as to what pitch you are throwing. If he can see your grip, he knows what pitch is coming and has a better chance to hit it.

3. Aim your pitch directly at the hitter to induce an ankle-bending reaction. To get the batter to bend his ankles, he must be hitting from the same side you are throwing. For example, right-handed pitchers can only bend the ankles of a right-handed hitter who thinks the pitch is coming directly at him.

4. Rotate your middle and index fingers over the baseball as you release the pitch. In this motion, your wrist pronates or snaps, producing the spin on the baseball that leads to it curving. Your thumb finishes the motion pointing toward the sky, as if you are giving the "thumbs up" sign to the batter.

5. Finish your pitching delivery. Keep your eye on the pitch and prepare yourself for a batted ball that may come back in your direction. If the pitch is successful, it will start out toward the batter's head or upper body, causing him to flinch. As it nears the catcher, the ball should dive across plate, buckling the batter's legs as he tries to recover in time to hit the ball.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice throwing the curveball to a catcher without a hitter in the box first. Because an ankle-bending curveball requires you to pitch directly at a hitter, an inexperienced pitcher may lose control of some pitches. These might hit a batter standing near the plate.

• Your focus should always be on retiring the hitter, not making him look silly. That should only be viewed as a bonus. Always try to make the correct pitch in each situation.

• Properly warm up your arm before starting any curveball pitching routine. Curveballs, especially power curves that produce ankle bending, put more stress on the arm than typical fastballs. Severe arm injuries can occur when the arm is not properly stretched or a pitcher is asked to throw too many curveballs.

References

• The Complete Pitcher: How to Throw Curveball
• Baseball Pitching Tips: The Curveball