Great stuff as usual! Those pitchers who use the bent wrist method also telegraph their curveball to the same handed batters, as their pitching hand generally comes out of the mitt with a bent wrist. For the opposite handed batters, we would have the 3rd or 1st base coach yell out "deuce" as soon as those pitchers separated their hands. An old friend of mine, born in the late 19th century, who played, coached, and umpired in the old PCL, discussed the bent wrist issue with me. I tried it in practice under his supervision (he was against the method) and found maintaining a bent wrist throughout the delivery slowed my forward arm speed thus making the "curveball" roll into the strike zone, absent the usual sharp break that you have well exhibited in one of your rehab videos. I firmly believed at that time no amount of repetition would have improved the outcome. So, as you assert, even if those pitchers began their deliveries with a bent wrist, they released the ball as you have demonstrated. Again, great video. Keep up the great work.
Coach Dave. Watching your video and heard your comment on the knuckle curve. I threw a knuckle curve with my pointer finger and middle finger knuckled. The two knuckles don’t flick as you go into probation they extend and I believe the do help to increase the spin.
The best learning is at 6:00, see how the hand deliberately turns the ball sideways on release - that's the start of the curve motion. He's not flicking it per say its really just letting his forward motion and the fingers on the seam turn it. I try to tell my pitchers to start by putting the throwing hand on the catchers head as they release, they'll hear and feel a 'thwick' sound as the seem rubs against the release finger. Throw it hard to get the motion started, you want it to travel and the batter to think its a fast pitch and it just fall at the final moment. Another trick is to psychologically tell them to land the ball on the plate not in the catcher mitt.
I am a Junior in High school right now. The pitch I have the greatest feel for is my Curveball. I can not tell you how much it helps to learn how to throw a curveball properly. My Freshman year, I had a 4+ ERA and 6 K's per 9. My Sophomore year I threw a 2.90 ERA or so and 9 K's per 9 in 50 innings. The the summer after my Freshman year, my parents signed me up for pitching lessons. The coach said my fastball was fine, but I had absolutely no viable breaking pitches. Apparently I had been throwing a curveball all wrong, I was throwing a little league curveball because that is all any coach had taught me. Eventually, he taught me how to throw a proper curveball, just like you demonstrated in the video, and a splitter. Without changing hardly anything, aside from gaining about 4-6 mph from workouts and throwing a curveball and a splitter, I had gone from a JV pitcher who only pitched when we had nobody else, to a #3 starter for varsity in my sophomore season. I hope a lot of kids take this video seriously and work on adding a proper curveball (or slider depending on arm slot) to their arsenal. Thank you so much for making this video so kids do not have to go 4 years throwing an improper curveball that could eventually hurt their arms.
I watched this to learn how to swing a golf club. Years ago I saw a film of, I think, Joe Thiesman throwing a football. It was of from the rear and it looked as if he had released the football with his index finger directly from the rear point of the football. It was absolutely clear that the last part of the body to touch the ball was the index finger by a good margin. There are several great golf instructors who teach that you swing the handle of the club, not the head of the club. I have been hitting some brilliant shots recently and 40 years ago was able to hit drives 315 yards dead straight by focusing my swing dead straight down my index finger to the shaft. It looked to me as if on each of those pitches the last point of contact was the index finger dragged down the side of the ball. Yesterday morning I was using the focused finger of fate to hit down on the golf ball and using an outside blow to create a draw and an inside blow to hit a fade. I could not miss. I am off to find a fastball to see if it is released off the index finger.
no, not really. The middle finger is the last on the ball on fastballs, though the pronation of the hand immediately at release may make it look a bit ambiguous. football is similar to how a slider is thrown, not a fastball, so there will be differences in release finger if compared to a fastball.
Curveball=forward spin, is the most simple way to understand it in my opinion and the best way to teach someone i think. If you tell someone to throw a curveball and give them crazy instructions like karate chop and bend your wrist and all that, they wont know what to do, if you give them a ball and tell them to throw the ball with no instruction other than to make it spin forward I think they will get it.
I had every explanation on how to spin a curveball given to me(pull the blind karate chop etc) and threw the loopiest curveball known to man. When I got to college I had a coach tell me throw it as hard as you can and spin it forward, now I throw a hammer lol
I pitched in h.s. had a really fantastic curve how I did it and have taught my grandson the same way and have been asked by others...yes you want that gyro spin but as it rolled off the fingers I pushed had with my thumb...can it be said part off the secret is the push of your thumb?
Great tutorial Dan. My problem is that I can't get much speed on it. I feel like I'm pinching the ball and then releasing the pinch, just not able to move it forward much. Is the thumb perhaps supposed to help move ball forward; in a sense, behind ball at release to give it some speed? I do understand the curve is almost always an off speed pitch. Assuming the arm moves the same speed as when throwing a fastball, is there a speed of curve that is ideal, i.e. reduced by 20%?
All of those questions are answered in my curveball course playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLQjGtVRBVkfegUq8Mv_bpD1dTD-IVo1wR.html so check that out. But yes - the curve should be about 15-20% slower than the fastball, and yes, the thumb can have an influence on spinning and improving spin direction, but its not something I've found a way to teach, really. But yes, bringing the thumb forward, sort of, can help improve the spin.
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Great stuff as usual! Those pitchers who use the bent wrist method also telegraph their curveball to the same handed batters, as their pitching hand generally comes out of the mitt with a bent wrist. For the opposite handed batters, we would have the 3rd or 1st base coach yell out "deuce" as soon as those pitchers separated their hands.
An old friend of mine, born in the late 19th century, who played, coached, and umpired in the old PCL, discussed the bent wrist issue with me. I tried it in practice under his supervision (he was against the method) and found maintaining a bent wrist throughout the delivery slowed my forward arm speed thus making the "curveball" roll into the strike zone, absent the usual sharp break that you have well exhibited in one of your rehab videos. I firmly believed at that time no amount of repetition would have improved the outcome.
So, as you assert, even if those pitchers began their deliveries with a bent wrist, they released the ball as you have demonstrated.
Again, great video. Keep up the great work.
Coach Dave. Watching your video and heard your comment on the knuckle curve. I threw a knuckle curve with my pointer finger and middle finger knuckled. The two knuckles don’t flick as you go into probation they extend and I believe the do help to increase the spin.
The best learning is at 6:00, see how the hand deliberately turns the ball sideways on release - that's the start of the curve motion. He's not flicking it per say its really just letting his forward motion and the fingers on the seam turn it. I try to tell my pitchers to start by putting the throwing hand on the catchers head as they release, they'll hear and feel a 'thwick' sound as the seem rubs against the release finger. Throw it hard to get the motion started, you want it to travel and the batter to think its a fast pitch and it just fall at the final moment. Another trick is to psychologically tell them to land the ball on the plate not in the catcher mitt.
Great video. No one believes me on the pronation until I pull out videos. This will be very helpful for my guys.
yep - pronation alwayyyyyyys happens no matter what
I am a Junior in High school right now. The pitch I have the greatest feel for is my Curveball. I can not tell you how much it helps to learn how to throw a curveball properly.
My Freshman year, I had a 4+ ERA and 6 K's per 9. My Sophomore year I threw a 2.90 ERA or so and 9 K's per 9 in 50 innings. The the summer after my Freshman year, my parents signed me up for pitching lessons. The coach said my fastball was fine, but I had absolutely no viable breaking pitches. Apparently I had been throwing a curveball all wrong, I was throwing a little league curveball because that is all any coach had taught me. Eventually, he taught me how to throw a proper curveball, just like you demonstrated in the video, and a splitter. Without changing hardly anything, aside from gaining about 4-6 mph from workouts and throwing a curveball and a splitter, I had gone from a JV pitcher who only pitched when we had nobody else, to a #3 starter for varsity in my sophomore season. I hope a lot of kids take this video seriously and work on adding a proper curveball (or slider depending on arm slot) to their arsenal.
Thank you so much for making this video so kids do not have to go 4 years throwing an improper curveball that could eventually hurt their arms.
thanks for the thoughtful comment, Connor. Glad you found a good coach in your area who taught you the right way.
This is the video I wish I had back in high school.
I watched this to learn how to swing a golf club. Years ago I saw a film of, I think, Joe Thiesman throwing a football. It was of from the rear and it looked as if he had released the football with his index finger directly from the rear point of the football. It was absolutely clear that the last part of the body to touch the ball was the index finger by a good margin. There are several great golf instructors who teach that you swing the handle of the club, not the head of the club. I have been hitting some brilliant shots recently and 40 years ago was able to hit drives 315 yards dead straight by focusing my swing dead straight down my index finger to the shaft. It looked to me as if on each of those pitches the last point of contact was the index finger dragged down the side of the ball. Yesterday morning I was using the focused finger of fate to hit down on the golf ball and using an outside blow to create a draw and an inside blow to hit a fade. I could not miss. I am off to find a fastball to see if it is released off the index finger.
no, not really. The middle finger is the last on the ball on fastballs, though the pronation of the hand immediately at release may make it look a bit ambiguous. football is similar to how a slider is thrown, not a fastball, so there will be differences in release finger if compared to a fastball.
Curveball=forward spin, is the most simple way to understand it in my opinion and the best way to teach someone i think. If you tell someone to throw a curveball and give them crazy instructions like karate chop and bend your wrist and all that, they wont know what to do, if you give them a ball and tell them to throw the ball with no instruction other than to make it spin forward I think they will get it.
agree. simple = good.
@@DanBlewett Your channel is the most realest on baseball of any I have found. Thanks for the content!
Appreciate the kind words - more to come.
I had every explanation on how to spin a curveball given to me(pull the blind karate chop etc) and threw the loopiest curveball known to man. When I got to college I had a coach tell me throw it as hard as you can and spin it forward, now I throw a hammer lol
I'm not good at making velocity.. must I have to make velocity to make nice curveballs? or can I throw curveball without using full energy?
Great video
Thanks!
My problem as an over the top guy is I bend my wrist sometimes and the spin is terrible and I tellegraph it
put the cup on the table was the easiest way to explain to my son and he picked it up quick. at 12u he breaks knees with his curve
I pitched in h.s. had a really fantastic curve how I did it and have taught my grandson the same way and have been asked by others...yes you want that gyro spin but as it rolled off the fingers I pushed had with my thumb...can it be said part off the secret is the push of your thumb?
perhaps!
it seems that the release point is like "to let the ball goes" without a pressure on the seams; is n't it?
Yes, I would pretty much agree.
Great tutorial Dan. My problem is that I can't get much speed on it. I feel like I'm pinching the ball and then releasing the pinch, just not able to move it forward much. Is the thumb perhaps supposed to help move ball forward; in a sense, behind ball at release to give it some speed? I do understand the curve is almost always an off speed pitch. Assuming the arm moves the same speed as when throwing a fastball, is there a speed of curve that is ideal, i.e. reduced by 20%?
All of those questions are answered in my curveball course playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLQjGtVRBVkfegUq8Mv_bpD1dTD-IVo1wR.html so check that out. But yes - the curve should be about 15-20% slower than the fastball, and yes, the thumb can have an influence on spinning and improving spin direction, but its not something I've found a way to teach, really. But yes, bringing the thumb forward, sort of, can help improve the spin.
At what age do you recommend starting to throw curveballs
14
6:00
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I thought you had to snap your wrist lmao. But now it seems like you don’t have too. According to this video.