Satisfaction: Finally Getting Somewhere

General Pitching Topics
#1

After really working on my mechanics and practicing, I got two pitch a game. I pitched two innings (the max for fall-ball) walked one, struck out five, and didn’t give up a run.

But the numbers don’t really matter. I felt like I was throwing harder than I ever have. And I was throwing bee-bees (sp?) knee high on the outside corner. I’d occasionally mix in a change that they pulled way foul and a slider that they would look ridiculous swinging at. I even throw some two-seamers/sinkers that absolutely fooled this one batter.

The bottom line is that I felt great, was throwing strikes, and was throwing hard. It feels good to feel that I’m finally making progress.

BTW, I don’t know why I’m telling you this. :lol:

#2

Nice!

#3

nice dude, hopefully I will be able to do that when my highschool ball starts. Also how old are you? Cause I would like to atleast try a slider but I dont want to risk it if it “suposedly” can cause ingories. (sorry about spelling)

#4

I’ve said this before, countless times, and I’ll say it again: The slider, when thrown correctly, is actually easier on the arm and shoulder than just about anything else. I learned the pitch when I was sixteen, and my instructor, an active major-league pitcher, told me, “Throw it like a curve, but roll your wrist, don’t snap it”. He showed me the off-center grip he used—it was neither two-seam nor four-seam but somewhere in between with the index and middle fingers close together—demonstrated the wrist action, then handed me the ball and told me, “Go ahead, try it.” I got the hang of it in about ten minutes, and over the winter I worked on that pitch, and it became my strikeout pitch, which I nicknamed “Filthy McNasty” (after a character in a W.C. Fields movie) because that was exactly what it was. So-o-o-o—if you’re at least fourteen, I say go ahead and work on that pitch and see what you can do with it. 8) :slight_smile:

#5

Zita is exactly right. I’m 13 and I started throwing my slider preseason last year (I was technically 12 but yeah like 12 and 11 months). There is a lot of difference from the curve besides the grip. It doesn’t hurt my arm ›› listen to what Zita says. One of my former Yankees taught him.

#6

I’m 14, and I started throwing the slider at 11 or 12. Basically what happened is I looked at the cutter grip on this site and I tried to throw it. It wasn’t a slider at first, but over time I sort of developed the habit of throwing the cutter/slider as hard as my fastball, but releasing it so that my thumb gets rid of the pressure first, causing my two fingers to pull the ball down. Mentally, I’m literally thinking “throw fastball” but habitually the ball comes out of my hand this way. I don’t snap or roll or anything, I just throw. With the right arm angle, it’s a slider, because if I throw all the way over the top it has hard 12-6 action.

While it’s debatable that I’m just throwing a cutter, the amount of horizontal and lateral movement is more than a cutter, even if I’m throwing it relatively close to fastball speed.

I’m not quite sure I described my release the best, but it’s all I can do.

:wink: