My son has been working on his changeup this winter and we have had mixed results.
When it is right he throws a pretty decent change but his misses are about 3 foot short of the plate.
Any idea what would cause these to hit short? My first thought was release point but his pitching coach doesn’t see a difference.
Could it be grip?
He throws a circle change.
It just isn’t a pitch that develops over night…have him develop the touch by throwing it as he warms up and in long toss. This isn’t unusual at all, he just has to commit and believe and work on it…it’ll come.
I would respond with the whole small article I wrote last night for this site but here it is on a piece of the change-up. JDfromFL gave some great thoughts as well. The above is just some things to consider.
Yah Fred that “dragging the back foot” thing makes me very frustrated when I hear that cue. It can be very surprising how many stand by it (The cue…you can seach this site and see it). I’ve always felt altering your delivery for anything was wrongheaded…might work at lower levels but just shows the pitch at higher ones.
The change can be the most effective out pitch in the arsenal when the pitcher believes in it…also it ain’t all together bad to be able to get dirt on a pitch here and there…as long as the 2 can drop and block…
Munster just continue to work with him and it…before long you’ll see his K count start to tic up…the down side is he may have a “more than 3 k inning” occasionally…my sons worst was a 5 K inning…the catcher quit and went to football the next year :lol:
Thanks for the advice.
We do not drag the back foot or anything. A couple of cues he has told him is
Point the toes up to the sky
Throw it thumb down
Have you heard of these before?
The change being a “feel” pitch, the last would make sense…if your toes ain’t that way on every other pitch I’d say the first is bogus.
Thumb down connotates pronating, circle c is a force pronated pitch.
Munster,
It certainly could be the grip. Most kids who try to throw the circle change grip the ball off-center so that they can make a tight little circle. But this means then end up having to throw the ball - and control it - using the ring and pinky fingers - the two weakest fingers on the hand.
I suggest checking your son’s grip to make sure he grips the ball with thumb and middle finger cutting the ball in half. Then slide his index finger down the side of the ball only as far as his flexibility allows without shifting thumb and middle finger. He doesn’t need to make a circle. Finally, add in some pronation. And keep up the arm speed!
I remember the time when I was having trouble with the circle change—I just couldn’t get it to work right. When I told my pitching coach about it, he took one look at the grip I was using and told me that my hand wasn’t quite large enough to form the complete circle or “OK” sign. He suggested I go to the backward “c”—the half-circle—and told me to move my third and fourth fingers closer together, thus creating an off-center grip. I tried it, and BANZAI! I had my circle change.
It’s important to throw it with the same arm motion and the same arm speed as for the fast ball (or, in my case, the curve, since I didn’t have anything resembling a fast ball)—one thing you don’t want to do is telegraph the pitch! 8)
The circle change can really come out strange if you don’t hold it the same every time. You can really hold it loose one time and really tight another, the velocity of the pitch will really change based on just how much tension is in your fingers…sounds like you need to work on repetitive mechanics to get it in the same place!
Hope this can be of some help.
Thanks Fred! Great stuff.
great stuff Fred, i have never heard it exlained like that before.
Wow! Absolutely outstanding explanation.
Thanks Fred! With LL season only a few weeks away, this is awesome.
Thanks Fred
It never occured to me to turn my fingers in that manner. I have been having trouble getting my velocity down when using my change up on question though, do you stay with a circle change grip or use the star point that you showed when working with the hockey puck
[quote=“Fred Corral”]Hope this can be of some help.
Pushing back to the top. I’ll be watching this with my 13U son this weekend, working on the change up.
[quote=“Fred Corral”]Hope this can be of some help.
Love this video. My son is watching it daily so he can teach himself the change up.