My son has been fooling around with a split finger fastball and it has become a nice pitch. He's almost 14 y/o about 6'2" and has GIANT hands. Is the splitter as dangerous to the arm as the slider or curveball?
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Keep the thumb centered below index and middle finger to avoid supinating the pitch and limit the number of splitters thrown. Do these things and then your son should be fine - especially if he is of high school age.
quote:Originally posted by Jimnev:
My son has been fooling around with a split finger fastball and it has become a nice pitch. He's almost 14 y/o about 6'2" and has GIANT hands. Is the splitter as dangerous to the arm as the slider or curveball?
Not if you throw it as Roger describes.
It might not hurt him if he has large hands, but most knowledgable pitching coaches do not recommend throwing them at young ages as it puts additional stress in the arm.
If you want to test this for yourself take your fingers (that you use to throw the splitter)and spread them apart with your other hand. You will feel the tension in your arm a few inches down from your elbow. Now imagine that additional stress imparted at high velocity while throwing a ball. Not a good idea. Big hands are great for CU's work on this pitch. PS: Do not let him throw a slider, one of the worst pitches for kids.
If you want to test this for yourself take your fingers (that you use to throw the splitter)and spread them apart with your other hand. You will feel the tension in your arm a few inches down from your elbow. Now imagine that additional stress imparted at high velocity while throwing a ball. Not a good idea. Big hands are great for CU's work on this pitch. PS: Do not let him throw a slider, one of the worst pitches for kids.
Thanks for the information.
I read a story in one of my pitching books about when the splitter was discovered. The pitcher showed it to the ML team he pitched for and almost every pitcher that tried it had problems with their arm. This is the problem when kids start experimenting.
BOF
I would not recommend throwing either pitch as a young player; however, John Smoltz (Braves, now Red Sox) once stated to me that "I wish I had never started throwing the splitter". I would have to agree with John that the splitter causes more problems than the slider.
quote:PS: Do not let him throw a slider, one of the worst pitches for kids.
I would not recommend throwing either pitch as a young player; however, John Smoltz (Braves, now Red Sox) once stated to me that "I wish I had never started throwing the splitter". I would have to agree with John that the splitter causes more problems than the slider.
quote:Originally posted by Jimnev:
My son has been fooling around with a split finger fastball and it has become a nice pitch. He's almost 14 y/o about 6'2" and has GIANT hands. Is the splitter as dangerous to the arm as the slider or curveball?
IMO the split shouldnt be used unless your traditional breaking ball isnt good enough to get hitters out. I used a split once I got to college because my breaking wasnt good enough to get out better hitters.... my spit was.
All pitches are potentially dangerous to throw.
There are actually two different ways a splitter can be released.
The classic, Bruce Sutter type splitter relies on your middle finger being the last contact you have with the ball. The ball is spun hard across the top to create drag on the bottom of the ball and thus, hard sink. The problem with this is that it is an almost screwball-type motion and thus, you do see guys have difficulties with this over time.
Many pitchers use more of a forkball type approach, what Mike Boddicker used to call a "fosh". Two seam grip, spread your fingers, and then just throw a fastball. The spreading can tense your ligaments so there is a potential issue there if your hands are not large enough. For a player with "man hands", personally I think this pitch is no more stressful to throw than a fastball.
And with all due respect to Smoltzie (and much is due, indeed), he had slider-related elbow issues multiple times before he threw his first splitter. And I think he used the Sutter version. For an example of the latter version, watch Jose Contreras.
The classic, Bruce Sutter type splitter relies on your middle finger being the last contact you have with the ball. The ball is spun hard across the top to create drag on the bottom of the ball and thus, hard sink. The problem with this is that it is an almost screwball-type motion and thus, you do see guys have difficulties with this over time.
Many pitchers use more of a forkball type approach, what Mike Boddicker used to call a "fosh". Two seam grip, spread your fingers, and then just throw a fastball. The spreading can tense your ligaments so there is a potential issue there if your hands are not large enough. For a player with "man hands", personally I think this pitch is no more stressful to throw than a fastball.
And with all due respect to Smoltzie (and much is due, indeed), he had slider-related elbow issues multiple times before he threw his first splitter. And I think he used the Sutter version. For an example of the latter version, watch Jose Contreras.
