When I grew up everyone used to tell me that you should grip the changeup way deep in your hand and claw the ball to reduce the velocity on the ball. So of course growing up I had a terrible time throwing this pitch and decided to just change speeds with my fastball when a changeup was called.
It wasn't until I got to college when I met a crafty lefty who had a nasty change with great arm action that I started to learn how to properly throw this pitch. This guy topped out at 83 and was MCC pitcher of the year. He held the ball way out in his last 3 fingers and kept extremely light pressure on the ball except on the pressure points on the seams.
It took me about a year to get used to the way the ball felt coming out and at first it was really tough to throw, but eventually it became one of my best pitches. The ball comes out light and you can really get nice looking arm action because the ball floats out of the hand with a lot of rotation like fastball. The downward movement can be controlled with the amount of finger pressure on the seams and the pronation of the wrist.
I have been teaching my students and players this method since I began coaching and I feel that this is the best way to teach the changeup.
When starting to learn this pitch;
1) Mess around with different finger placements on the ball, most pitchers have different places that feel comfortable. Wherever you have your fingers (circle, last 3 fingers, all 4 fingers, etc.) you must have very little pressure on the ball. The farther you can get the ball out in your hand the less resistance it will have on it and the more it will float and move from the pressure points that your fingers place on the seams. This is really hard at first because it feels like you are going to throw the ball everywhere and you have no control.
2) The back side arm must extend away from the body and elongate out to stay on top and elongate the release point. The path that the ball takes in the back will directly effect the path and eventual location of the pitch.
3) Throw it from about 45-50’ when warming up. It is hard to get on top of this pitch from this far so it helps to work to get this pitch down from this shorter distance. When you go back to 60 this should help in keeping this pitch down.
4) Throw it during long toss and getting loose. The more you throw it the better it will get.
5) Remember, a changeup up gets hit a lot harder than one in the dirt. Work this pitch down.
What do the rest of you guys think about this? Anyone else have changeup stories?
Thanks,
Justin Stringer
Do It Right Baseball
www.doitrightbaseball.com
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