How to Throw a Fastball Pitch

Video Transcript

"The two seam fastball, is the grip actually, for all the other fastballs. You grip the grip with the seams, because this particular grip, because there's only two seams involved in the rotation. There tends to be more movement with the fastball. Now, whether you're throwing a cut fastball, or a cutter, that means we're going to cut the ball in half. Where that if I want the ball, if I'm a right handed pitcher, to move to the right, I'm going to position my fingers on the left side of the ball, with my longest finger on top, to cut the ball, and create a spin, that would make the ball move to the right. By the same token, I can throw a cut fastball, right to the left slightly, and I cut the baseball in half again, with my fingers on the right side of the ball, and that creates movement to the right. Now, whether you call that a cutter, or you call it a cut fastball, basically, we've got the same pitch. Some people call it a fastball with movements. Most pitchers throw their two seamer, and position their fingers, to one side of the ball, to create movement, but basically, your two seam fastball, your cutter, your screwball, your fastball with movement, are basically the same pitch, with basically the same grips. They're just named different names, to create the effect that you want to. A batter can adjust to speed. A batter can adjust to location, but it's very hard for a batter to adjust to movement, so any fastball with movement, can be a very effective pitch."