3 Movement Pitch Dealbreakers
We’re firm believers that movement pitches happen mostly from the elbow down; if you’re not generating the correct kind of spin—and A LOT of tight fast spin—using your wrist and fingers with a loose forearm, your pitch won’t truly move, even if you hit your location. However, even if you have good spin, there are a few dealbreakers that will prevent you from hitting your spots or throwing a good pitch overall.
Dealbreaker 1: Curveball
A good curveball absolutely requires very good front side resistance. When you land and as you finish, you want your front hip to be out in front of your head (closer to the catcher). Keeping your arm in close to your body and spinning the ball around your front hip will give you the curve you desire. Your hip also needs to keep your arm from flying too far off the power line. If your front side resistance breaks down either from forward lean or excess hip movement during the drive through, it becomes very likely that you’ll miss wildly, or lose your curve in an effort to keep you arm on the power line.
Dealbreaker 2: Screwball
The screwball is exactly the opposite in terms of body position. For a successful screwball, your arm must run from one corner of the plate to the other (for a right handed pitcher throwing to a right handed batter, your arm runs from the outside to the inside). In order for this to succeed, your arm must start lined up with the outside edge of the plate. In normal fastball posture, your body is in the way and will not allow this to happen. You MUST get your hips out of the way so there is a clear path for your arm.
Dealbreaker 3: Drop
The drop works better if you land with a little more weight on your front foot than usual. If your stride is too long, the drop becomes more difficult. The longer your stride, the more your shoulders tend to tilt back. If your shoulders tilt back, the ball tends to go up.
What do these dealbreakers have in common?
These are all small postural adjustments that take place in your CORE. They need to be subtle enough that they’re nearly undetectable by most batters, and you need to be in good control of your body. Many pitchers think these adjustments happen by changing where they step. While small changes in landing position may occur, they should be a natural result of the postural changes, not the driving force. It’s very easy to change your stride without actually changing your core posture, so be careful not to fall into that trap. Then, when the pitch doesn’t work, many pitchers try to adjust their strides even further, causing the changes to be quite noticeable.
Make small changes focused on your hips and ab muscles!