"3rd" opinion, please

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My daughter's pitching coach has always told her "Screw Ball on inside corner; Curve Ball on outside corner".

The person calling the pitches for the team has her throwing both pitches to either side of the plate.

Is there a right answer? My daughter thinks that one of her coaches doesn't know what he's talking about.........

 

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The pitching coach is correct. If you throw a screwball to the outside (assuming right handed batter) it will come in over the center of the plate (home run pitch) and not on the inside corner where it should be. And the opposite for the curve. I would have the coach calling pitches talk to your pitching coach or any high school/ college pitcher.

 

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There are left and right handed batters so that adage doesn't always fit. You should be able to throw both to either side of the plate.

 

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One more thing about the screwball. When you are throwing this pitch the pitcher is already stepping close to the left side of the 24 inch lane, to get that to the outside of the plate you would have to step beyond the 24 inch lane (illegal pitch). If you watched any college world series games this was the most called illegal pitch. Again this is assuming right handed batter and pitcher.

 

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Clarification: Inside/Outside as facing a Right Handed Batter.......

 

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yes, inside closest to batter. outside away from batter. My daughter has been pitching for five years know, and I've talked to many pitching coaches before we found our current one. And they all teach screwball inside and curve ball outside. Again assuming batter and pitcher are right handed.

 

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The best screwball I have ever seen in fastpitch moved about 2 inches (not including the angled trajectory of the pitch). The best curveball I have seen moved about 6 inches. That being said, these pitches do not change levels so if they are not perfectly placed they are very hittable. Personally, I would not throw a ball that moves towards a decent hitter very often. Good hitters love balls that move towards them. The majority of MLB players have higher averages against pitchers who throw opposite of the way they bat.

Len

 

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You also have to take into account where the batter is in the box. If the batter has her heels on the outside of the box, a screw ball inside corner is a meatball. Likewise, for a kid who is crowding the plate, an inside curve ball on the corner is tough to hit fair. Of course your pitcher can't be afraid to plunk a kid if they throw inside. There are no absolutes.

 

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changing eye levels and speed has been very effective for my pitchers.
I think good hitters will get on plane with a screw and curve and still be able to hit the ball hard, even though the contact point might not be perfect the composite bats will still give the ball a charge

 

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RH pitcher to RH batter, I tend to agree with your pitching coach - to a point. I also agree with Lenski in that pitches moving INTO the hitters zone are very dangerous. A pitch moving back into the hitting zone gets hit very hard by aggressive, confident hitters.

Great pitches are balls that look like strikes from the batter's perspective (but would be balls). A curve on the outside half of the plate that moves 6" off the plate will probably be a swing/miss, or at best, a foul. A screw BETTER be well inside, and hopefully moving up or down also, because college level hitters take those yard very easily - especially when the pitch doesn't move much.

 

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changing eye levels and speed has been very effective for my pitchers.
I think good hitters will get on plane with a screw and curve and still be able to hit the ball hard, even though the contact point might not be perfect the composite bats will still give the ball a charge

Exactly! Changing levels and speed is an absolutely knee-buckling experience for the batter. The most dominant pitchers in fastpitch are the pitchers with at least three of the four following pitches in their repertoire: fastball, drop, rise, and change.

Len

 

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I am with you Len if a pitcher can put those 4 pitches where they want them the batters are in for a long day.

 

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Couldn't agree more. Changing speeds and locations is key.

 

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We use the screw ball mainly to lefty slappers. She does not step in or out to throw the curve or screw. I guess it depends on your pitching coach. She has a very good screw ball based on how she spins the ball off her fingers. It has a 18.6 spin ratio when they measured it at WSU. I agree with the posts you need to move balls up and down and vary speeds. Seen too many fast ball pitches that throw a flat fast ball with no spin. Even if you throw in the high 60's you will get pounded. against good hitters. I'm a drop ball fan, since you get many ground balls to the infield.