spitters

A good spitter is as fast as a fastball but it moves like a knuckleball. Picture Wakefield throwing about an 85 mph knuckleball. Guys can't even hit when its 65 mph.

Thats why its so hard to hit.

I dont understand it either but it works. Sometimes in the cages we will spit on the ball to mess with the batter and it moves all over the place. Hopefully someone can explain why.

It moves all over the place b/c the spit reduces the friction between your fingers and the ball. So when you throw the ball, it doesn't rotate the way a fastball normally would. It comes out with the rotation (or lack there of) a knuckleball. It dances around for the same reason a knuckleball does, but it is traveling much faster.

thanks for the info

A spitter works not because of the lack of spin but because of the change in the center of mass. Mass-wise, it's no longer a symetrical object so the rules of symetrical objects spinning don't apply the same.

If one were to get some slippery substance such as vasaline, or flem from a cough drop on their index and middle fingers then squeeze the ball out of their fingers like shooting a wartermelon seed as they released a no seam fastball, I'm sure the lack of rotation would sure make the ball drop sharply. At least, that's what I've heard.

I've read that spitters weren't such unhitable pitches in the majors.

When outlawed around 1920 about 17 pitchers who traditionally used the spitter, were allowed to continue until they retired. That's a pretty small number among the universe of major league pitchers.

About 1935, Burleigh Grimes threw the last legal spitball before he retired. (a great trivia question)