"Hand on top of the ball"....

I don't use the term "keep your hand on top of the ball". I don't think that the term serves any purpose when teaching a pitcher. I have used the term "keep your fingers behind the ball". I use that term, as it applies to all the various deliveries.(H 3/4, 3/4, L 3/4 and sidearm)

quote:

What’s your definition of “keep your hand on top of the ball.” A picture will be the best descriptor. When does it start, and how long does it stay there.

In my experience, keeping the hand on the top of the ball is only relevant after the hand break and during the arm swing. After that, bbscout's concept of keep your fingers behind the ball (versus under the ball) is much more relevant. Once the shoulders start to turn, it's impossible to keep your hand on top of the ball due to the physical forces involved.

I hear a lot of coaches talk about wanting their pitchers to keep their hands on top of the ball for as long as possible. I think this is bad advice because it doesn't take into account what the arm really does as a pitcher delivers the ball.

There are a lot of catch phrases out there, that if they are understood by those learning, will work. I certainly agree with BBscout that fingers behind the ball works much better as its more realistic of what will occur.

Well....I thought this thread would solicit more responses since I've heard the term used by so many coaches (never really explained though). But I do appreciate the few that did take the time to respond.....thanks!

I think the idea of "keeping you hand on top of the ball" is to combat the tendency of some to "push" the ball or be a "pie thrower." I do use the term with my son because it helps him to overcome the tendency to pie throw it.

I've used the term myself but bbscout's phrase "keep your fingers behind the ball" does a better job of describing what I meant when I said it. There's a player on my son's team who has a bad habit of turning his hand so his fingers are on the side of the ball going through release. As a result he's been dealing with elbow problems.

Jason

Keeping the hand on top of the ball may be impossible to do, but using those words can help certain pitchers. The hand on top only happens during the first stage of taking the ball out of the glove and before the arm starts forward (in most cases). From that point it would be fingers more under the ball and then behind the ball until release point when once again the fingers would be somewhat on top of the ball (not the hand). This term is also used a lot for breaking balls when pitchers have a problem staying on top of the ball.

Sometimes the terms baseball people use are not exact. Sometimes they are exaggerations that are almost physically impossible, but they create good results. If a pitcher tries to keep his hand on top of the ball… He can’t… but it could still help him a lot depending on the problem he might have. If that makes any sense?