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I throw a 4-seam and 2-seam fastball. A suggestion I would give you is if you throw a 4-seam you should throw a circle this is to deceive the hitter more. I used to throw a horseshoe change but when it comes out of your hand it has a spin like a 2-seam fastball. So if you throw the circle it will look more like a 4-seam and will make it harder to pick up. Just keep your wrist stiff and you should have some great movement especially if you have long fingers.
Try both the circle change and the three finger change. Try them for several months. Throw them when warming your arm up before practice & games. After you have build some confidence in your control, then use them in bullpens. After more confidence, then throw them in the game.

After some time, you will probably find that one grip or the other gives more movement and control. You can then settle in on that grip. But hang with both of them for a while to be sure you have given it enough time to really tell.

Do NOT stiffen your wrist, drag your toe, slow your mechanics down, etc. The c/u works on deception. The best deception is when NOTHING changes but the grip. Throw it EXACTLY the same as your fastball, just change the grip. The grip alone will take off enough speed.

After you have thrown it for a while, you can experiment with finger pressure & seam orientations to get different movement on the ball.

Good luck.
You learn the Changeup at 30 feet not 60'6". Stand with your shoulders toward 3rd and your feet as if you just landed on your stride and plant. Arm out and up. Rotate your hips and upper body. Tell yourself to "throw your wrist to the ground." Feel the ball coming off of your fingers. We teach the Circle change. We do this but keep our back foot down but on the toe. This drill is all about feel and is an exaggeration. We progress to 50 feet when we think we have 30 mastered. Then the mound.
Last edited by CoachB25
I like CoachB25's approach, but want to add that you need to realize that to throw an effective changeup, it absolutely must look like you're throwing a fastball, and this is sometimes the very most difficult aspect for pitchers to learn about throwing a changeup.

Grip the ball, either as a friction change (three or four fingers on ball), or circle change if your hand is large enough and then just throw your fastball. Trust the grip to do the work for you, but don't change your arm angle or speed, your release or any other aspect of your delivery. Don't try to do anything funky with it, just throw your fastball with the changeup grip. The changeup is a classic pitch where you have to "trust your stuff" for it to be truly effective. Master it and you can go a long way when combining a quality change with a good fastball.

Once you master one way of throwing a changeup, try to become proficient with the other. Many younger pitchers have difficulty throwing a circle change, usually due to their hands being a bit small to properly grip the ball. If you begin with a fricion change and then learn to throw a decent circle change, you'll become a better pitcher because of it.
Last edited by 06catcherdad
Mastering a changeup is the single greatest tool a pitcher can get. I always threw very hard, but as the game wore on, my fastball became more vulnerable. I throw 2 changeups, a straight change that I use to deceive the hitter with my arm motion, and a cirlce change that is more of an out pitch. Practice the grip and tossing it is the best advice I can give.
It's great pitch. You need to throw it a lot to get the feel for it. It is really a trial and error thing. Try lots of grips and see what you get in terms of movement and velocity drop off.

I think most people give up on it too quick..I think most think it should be easy to throw and get frustrated when they can't do it well quickly. It's not easy and it takes lots of reps. Keep at it and don't be afraid to try anything. It doesn't take much to make it a good pitch IF the arm action stays consistent or close to it.
Tips on CH:
Grip - comfort is huge, three common grips are circle(many variations), pitch fork(first three finger, tough to sink), comfortable spread w/ first two fingers(much like a split grip) ball back in grip, not in palm.

Development: Throw w/ FB armspeed. You and partner about 100-120 ft apart. Each of you put your hat 30 ft in front of each you. Move your feet to throw/don't just step. Distance makes it tough to do that. Don't cross feet / replace them. Stay on line. Play w/ grips to come up w/ something you are comfortable with. Throw the ball and try to hit partners hat. The distance teaches you to throw it w/ FB armspeed, allows you to see movement (can you sink it or bring is back to armside) and the hat provides a target. You are basically throwing somewhat long w/ CH. Simple but effective. Adjust distance to armstrength. Try to keep ball on line, little to no hump.

Hope it helps!
Well it depends on who you ask. People make up things all the time. What it is called is irrelevent.....it's how you use what you have.......as far as I know a fosh is putting the ball between your second and third fingers w\ thumb under ball (ala Spock's vulcan sign) like any other pitch (support ball so fingers can impart spin) if you can get it to sink and act like a change, more power to ya...command may be an issue...sink not much of a problem..........just another way to take something off the ball........what ever works........miss the fat part....
quote:
Originally posted by 06catcherdad:
I like CoachB25's approach, but want to add that you need to realize that to throw an effective changeup, it absolutely must look like you're throwing a fastball, and this is sometimes the very most difficult aspect for pitchers to learn about throwing a changeup.

Grip the ball, either as a friction change (three or four fingers on ball), or circle change if your hand is large enough and then just throw your fastball. Trust the grip to do the work for you, but don't change your arm angle or speed, your release or any other aspect of your delivery. Don't try to do anything funky with it, just throw your fastball with the changeup grip. The changeup is a classic pitch where you have to "trust your stuff" for it to be truly effective. Master it and you can go a long way when combining a quality change with a good fastball.


Absolutely agree on it looking like a fastball.

It should be noted that it is not a requirement to have large hands to throw a good circle. I have seen pitchers with small hands do very well with it.

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