What do you do when you throw a changeup, and it gets lined into the gap for a double? Keep throwing it!
It is difficult to throw a high-level curve and slider and cutter. Plus, you all need an effective changeup in order to continue advancing in your baseball career. Mastering the complete secondary arsenal is not an easy task. It takes patience, adjustments, and time, and game experience to best gain the confidence to throw them.
For young teenage pitchers, it is possible that whatever technique or cue worked for you one year could be ineffective the next year - physical changes in your body will have you adjusting each year. It is not uncommon to change a grip or hand position from season to season as you grow and gain strength.
One of the challenges I find in pitching instruction is urging pitchers to throw their developing pitch (curve, change, slider, sweeper, etc.), which is often a work in progress, in a game. Bullpen pitches are a different animal than game action. Often it is the travel ball or high school coach who is taking the reins and calling pitches. They will rarely call something besides the fastball or curve, for example, when you really need to throw that changeup with confidence in order to advance. A three-pitch mix should be a goal for each pitcher.
Try not to fall into the trap of thinking you have to add pitches to be successful. If you can find an elite curve or slider as part of your three-pitch package, you can go far. What you see on social media often isn't an accurate or realistic and it tends to make pitchers "give up" too easily if they can't get the feel for a particular pitch.
In reality - it takes time and patience, and more patience, to achieve success.
Some pitchers have the ability to spin a better curve or sweeper than a slider. It has to do with wrist mobility more than anything. A good coach will identify the best spin for you. Seek out some guidance and find the right spin.
If someone else has an elite pitch, it does not equate to you being able to replicate it. Every person is different - find what sets you apart, get hitters out, and gives you confidence to use it in any count.
Here are some thoughts to keep in mind regarding secondary pitches for those who are looking to advance:
- Remember that a breaking pitch is thrown with conviction, not tension. Stay relaxed (think 85% effort) and use your whole body to help spin the breaker
- You want the hitter to swing at the off-speed stuff. Throw it at the heart of the plate and let the ball do the work. You will put pressure on the hitter when you can fill the zone with any pitch.
- If you have a 3/4 arm slot, you shouldn't be trying to think about a 12-6 break on your curveball. Stay in the slot and find the break that works with the least amount of effort.
- The slider (or cutter) is thrown with the hand more behind the ball than a bigger breaking curveball, which is thrown with the idea of getting the fingers in front of the ball at release - that is where the tumbling spin comes from.
- A few cues on the slider/cutter are, one, release the pitch in front of your opposite eye rather than straight in front. A right hander would think about letting it go in front of his left eye, for example. Second, the finish is a little higher than a curveball. If you release at a 1 o'clock point, think about finishing the slider at 8 o'clock rather than a curveball's 7 o'clock release.
- Relaxing the lower half while keeping arm speed is a good way to keep the breaker down and sharp. Many young pitchers try to "rip" the pitch before they have a good feel. As you gain command the ability to throw it harder will come naturally. If you can get it over the plate and help complement your fastball, you will be effective enough. Think "thick in the lower half, quick up top".
- There are many ways to throw the changeup - it is up to you to find something that you want to throw with two strikes, or more importantly, in a 2-0 count. When everyone in the ballpark knows you are throwing a 2-0 fastball and you can go with a changeup for a swing and miss or weak groundout, that is a good feeling!
- Think about staying "inside" the ball when releasing a changeup. It doesn't take a big inward twist of the wrist (that hurts). Simply "reach" for the catchers left arm (right arm for lefties) rather than directly at the mitt. This will help you pronate just enough to get the dive you are looking for.
- The key to an effective change is in creating slower speed more than movement. Focus on making the ball spin with normal arm speed, targeting it just below the catcher's mitt or hit the point of home plate.
- If the change is coming out too hard, try first spreading your fingers, rather than squeezing or putting it deeper in the hand. Opening up the fingers kills some speed. Try to keep the pointer finger off the top of the ball - that is the fast ball finger and will usually make the ball go too fast. Keep the pointer off to the side. If that doesn't work, go to adding pressure to the grip.
A final thought - try to master both the two seam and four seam grips. If you are only throwing one, start practicing the other and see if you can get a different look for a hitter. Sometimes switching between fastball grips is like having two different pitches. If one is not working, why not have the other in your back pocket? It could get you out of that tight jam late in the game!
It is the combination of all pitches that makes a great pitcher great. Good luck developing them all!
