Comments on: How to Throw a Fastball

on 11/22/2005 If you're left handed you tend to have a higher ERA because the righties bust you up if a pitch is slightly hung or too slow. So what I do is I grip a four seam fastball where the seams are farther apart, but I grip it loose. Experimenting with mechanics, I found I had better velocity throwing it in a 12-6 motion, while taking a large stride and trying to channel my power from my legs, which happen to be the strongest part of my body. I snap my wrist, but not violently, and follow through. I also found that taking a deep breath during the wind up and exhaling during release gives you a tad more velocity.

on 11/22/2005 Put your index and middle finger were the seams are closest. and put your thumb on the seam under the ball towards the left. Then just throw it like a fastball. If u want to have a greater cut then throw it so it spins off your finger tips.

on 11/22/2005 The most important thing that you can do to build up arm strength is to do long-toss (throwing with a partner from 50-70 feet away) before every game, even if you are not pitching.

on 11/22/2005 Following through is a big deal, especially when throwing a fastball. When you throw a fastball, grip the ball as you usually would, get into your windup, when releasing the ball continue your arm motion (as if you were scooping up dirt on the mound) after the release. If you do not follow through you will have a tendency to throw high and inside our outside.

on 11/22/2005 First, hold the ball like you would a a four seam, but move your fingers toward where the seams get close together. Where the seams connect at the end of the horseshoe should be facing slightly toward your body. The big part of this pitch is to throw it as hard as hard as you can. Throw it like it's your last fastball, but snap your wrist in a downward motion. You should get a lot of break on this pitch and it should be as fast as your four seam fastball.

on 11/22/2005 Use the 2 seam fastball grip, lift up your middle finger slightly so that you apply more pressure to the ball with your index finger than your middle finger. Then, throw it like a fast ball. It should have a late break toward left handed batters.

on 11/22/2005 Hold the ball where it has that upside-down "U" shape with your knuckles on the top seam. Your ring and pinky finger could go right next to it. Throw it like a fastball. It will have the same spin of a fastball, with all 4 seams being visible, except it doesn't spin backward. It spins forward. It will drop about a foot if you are good enough. My friend taught me while he was pitching and I was catching. I had the glove up normal. He threw it and it went from the knees of the batter all the way to the dirt. It was amazing!

on 11/22/2005 You need to work on location. The fastest pitch won't get you anywhere if it's in the middle of the plate. Keep the batters off guard. It isn't the worst thing to throw a few outside the zone, but don't let the batters get comfortable. Work on accuracy, and then speed. Throw a 4 seamer, 2 seamer and a cutter. If you are having a hard time with a breaking ball, throw a change up. A good change up is just as effective as a curveball, if not more.

on 11/22/2005 First, you grip the ball in between the seams. You throw the ball from an overhand position and snap the ball with your wrist, hard, downward. It should break about 4 or 5 inches to your left (catchers right) if you throw with your right hand. The other way if your left handed. If you throw it in the bottom of the strike zone then it should have about 2 or 3 inches of drop. You can throw it at the outside to curve off are the inside to curve in if your pitching to your own hand. Most importantly you don't twist your wrist and arm and elbow.

on 11/22/2005 Fastballs don't have to do with arm strength, they have to do with the velocity of your arm. Proper arm slot and proper pitching mechanics should allow you to throw harder, but also with more accurately so you will dominate the strike zone. Another thing is to throw a lot and trust that you can throw it for a strike. In my opinion kids are to worried about throwing breaking pitches instead of fastballs, and without throwing fastballs kids aren't reaching there full potential arm strength or velocity.

on 11/22/2005 If you are a right hand pitcher and you want your fastball to move in on a right hand batter, you might want to apply more pressure to your index finger and take off pressure to your middle finger. This will run in on right hand batters. To make the pitch run in on lefties you do the opposite, apply more pressure to your middle finger and take off a little bit of pressure on your index finger. I have always tried to do this, since I always got my fastball rocked. This style will take a lot of practice for some and a little for others. I found this was easier using the 2 seam grip because the ball usually moves better than the 4 seam grip.

on 11/22/2005 im 12 years old and i throw a 78 mph fastball im not kiding .The key is to get your arm lose and then i pop my shoulder and lossen up the joints in my arm my coatches say i would thow faster if i would bring my all the way back in sted i cock my arm and bring it down and release.to pitch fast like me u cant mess around with curves u will kill youre elbow u need to stick to a four seem and a change up .i started messing around with pitches and i thew 68 for a mounth untill i stratend out my arm .keep youre arm in good shape.that means no curves

on 11/22/2005 The secret to a high velocity fastball isn't just throwing it hard, but throwing it fast! Don't worry about throwing it so hard that you hurt your arm, instead really focus on getting power from your shove-off leg and focus on snapping your whole arm and upper body downward as quickly as you can. This will impart speed on the ball much easier and more efficiently than your arm's muscles alone. At first, before you're used to pitching the ball at that kind of speed, expect the ball to hit the ground due to releasing too late. Keep practicing though, because it's invaluable to learn this. I was stupid and nearly lost my arm permanently by trying to throw it harder than I should have when I started out. I was pitching in the low to mid 70's. Now my top speed is 82-83 MPH and getting faster as I work out my legs and strengthen my arms tendons and it's natural elasticity. Keep at it and you'll be ringing up more K's than you can count. Good luck and practice, practice, practice!

on 11/22/2005 My tip is for new pitchers. Practice one pitch over and over. When I was growing up, all I pitched was a 2 seam fastball. Now it is my best pitch. The ball is coming in and just at the end it drops to the batters feet. So just keep practicing, and try to learn only one new pitch at a time.

on 11/22/2005 I'm not a very fast pitcher, but I have a great grip that's easer to aim with,(I completely rely on aim, not speed) has an odd spin, and puts 5-10 mph speed on my pitch. Have the seams closest point facing you and have 1 seam on top of the other (one seam looks like a smile, the other like a frown). Put your fingers along the seam and let it rip! It's 10 times easier to aim and goes faster with a backspin. I've thrown a 3-hit game using only this pitch.