Easiest curveball to learn

Its case by case. Much has to do with your arm action. There is not a "easiest curveball" to learn IMO....just whats easiest for you.

Do yourself a favor and go find someone who can help teach you to pitch - if this is what you want to do. A curveball is just one of several pitches you will need master. The last thing you want to do is try to "learn" how to throw any pitch from advice on a message board because translating it is difficult, and frankly at least one-half of the advice you will get will be incorrect. Without proper prior knowledge you can go down the wrong path.

Good Luck

Can you already command your fastball, and change-up?

With the caveat that I think BOF's points are absolutely on-target, I'm still going to see if I can explain how to throw a breaking pitch on the internet.

I'm hoping my descriptions merely fall into the "hard to translate" category, rather than the "incorrect" bucket.

If you don't understand this, or if you believe it's incorrect, then default to BOF's wise advice.

Curve:

1) I assume you can find a picture of a typical curveball grip...basically you will have the middle finger resting along the top of a seam and the index finger will be laying right alongside the middle finger.

2) Your thumb and middle finger should cut the ball in half--if they don't, you will likely squirt the ball at release.

3) Given #1 and #2, above, bury the ball as deeply in your grip as you can and squeeeze it firmly.

4) Preset your forearm, wrist, and hand in a "karate chop" configuration.

5) Mechanics/sequencing/timing are all "fastball"

6) Release the pitch with a karate-chop motion directed straight to the target.

7) Keep your forearm/wrist/hand in the karate-chop configuration until the ball has been released. Do not attempt to twist your hand, wrist, or forearm into further supination--after release of the ball your hand/wrist/forearm will pronate. Pronation is inevitable on every pitch as your arm goes into its follow-through path and wraps around the front of your torso. Do not attempt to add spin by flicking your thumb at release--this will only cause your hand to twist further into supination (bad) and it will not help the break on your curve.

8) With your mechanics, if you don't like the type of break you get on your curveball, you could try a slider.

Slider:

Same as above but hand/wrist/forearm are supinated less than a curve--about halfway between FB (palm forward) and curveball (palm facing in, or karate-chop position).

quote:

Slider:

Same as above but hand/wrist/forearm are supinated less than a curve--about halfway between FB (palm forward) and curveball (palm facing in, or karate-chop position).

Consider revisiting this pitch. I thought the same way about it at one time, and I was wrong. You can throw a slider with supination, its just not as fast or as late breaking as the Carlton version.



This is a good link and description of the slider.

Carltons slider

Heres a slider view at release of one of the best in the business.

Thanks, deemax--

I looked at the Carlton *** carefully and read his description...to me it looked like his suggested slider grip was about half-way between FB (palm forward) and curveball (fully supinated, as per a "karate chop").

The Santana picture is great, too, but I think it also makes a reasonable case for the "1/2-supinated curveball grip" I was trying to describe. That is, Santana has just released the ball in that beautiful photo, so his hand must be just starting to rotate into pronation. Obviously it will not have gotten very far into pronation at this early time point, but just enough to show his hand "palm forward". Another frame or two forward and that palm should be facing outward in pronation. One frame backward from your photo, my best guess is his hand would be slightly supinated.

Interesting discussion...thanks again.

Goodness, is there something wrong with the word p_i_x? The website substituted asteriks for it and made me look like I was writing trash.