Turn, you would have loved Eddie Lopat.
He was one of the Yankees’ Big Three pitching rotation of the late 40s to the mid-50s; he doubled as an extra pitching coach for the team; and he had a basic premise: every pitcher has a natural motion. Whoever he worked with, be it a Little Leaguer, a major leaguer on whatever team, or someone like me who just wanted to be a more effective pitcher, he set out to help said pitcher make the most of that motion, that delivery—and that included the grip. I was extremely fortunate to have him as my pitching coach for almost four years, and one thing he never did was get into all kinds of abstruse technicalities or kinesiological stuff. He showed me the grip for whatever pitch, demonstrated the wrist action, then handed me the ball and told me to “go ahead and try it”. And if I was having some difficulty he would suggest some alteration in the grip, and that usually worked for me. I will never forget September 17, 1951—the “Day of the Slider”, when he taught me how to throw a good one. It became my strikeout pitch! 