Dear Coach Ellis,
I noticed in your section on “Free Grips” you describe holding the four-seam fastball in the following manner (the traditional way) - “To grip the pitch, place your index- and middle-finger pads directly on the perpendicular seam of the baseball with the “horseshoe seam” facing into the ring finger of the throwing hand”.
I was wondering - do you think it makes a difference having the seam facing into the ring finger or could it be in the direction of the index finger (non-traditional grip)? I know that Don Gullet has said that it is personal preference which direction the bottom (closed portion) of the horseshoe faces. Also, Tom Glavine has demonstrated his four-seam fastball grip with the horseshoe seam facing the index finger.
But what are your thoughts on this?
The other reason I was asking about holding the four-seam in the “non-traditional” grip, is that I was showing some youngsters the fosh change-up and with the horseshoe facing the direction of the index finger, the index finger crosses two seams. By throwing the fosh with that grip I figured there would be more friction on the baseball as well as the potential for more movement
Thank-you very much for your time. I await your response.
Kurt