Nov 11, 2002

I figure most pitchers spend the bulk of their practice time working on movement, with very little time left over for developing power, accuracy, and changing speeds.

 

The problem with throwing movement is that it costs a little bit in both accuracy and speed. Without accuracy, movement can hurt you as well as help you - by moving right into the hitter's zone!

 

My theory is that you should develop accuracy and concentrate on covering as wide a "speed spectrum" as possible.

 

Batters have at least as much difficulty adapting to a change in speed as they do to movement - probably more. It's also a lot easier for you to learn a change up than it is to make the ball move more.

 

The first thing I recommend to any pitcher is to learn to throw harder. Fine tune your mechanics and lift weights. However, it's a long, slow process and takes a while to significantly increase your speed.

 

You can cover a wider speed spectrum by doing one very simple thing:

 

Take more "off" your change up.

 

OK, I know what you're thinking. You can't do that because then guys would be able to "double clutch" and hit it on their second stride.

 

In all my years of throwing change ups I've only ever seen that happen once. Damion McCulloch, of the Lomas, reloaded against me in the Icebreaker tourney and roped a double. He's back in New Zealand now - thank god - so I'm sticking to my theory.

 

I think it's impossible to throw a change up too slow. Until batters start "double clutching" against you on a regular basis - keep slowing it down.

 

This week's secret:

 

"Don't throw off-speed unless you throw off-speed"

 

Don't throw a half hearted change up. Throw it so slow that gravity becomes your friend. Any pitch below 40mph really "collapses" as it reaches the plate.

 

I throw in the mid 60's (on a good day). My change is around 40. That's 25mph difference.

 

I've seen an awful lot of change ups work that are only 15mph slower than their heat. Darren Zack for example, throws in the mid 70's and then drops his change to around 60mph. That's about 15mph difference and works pretty good!

 

It's hard to knock success but I don't see why anyone, including Zack, shouldn't throw the change up even slower. Mind you, I haven't thrown against a lot of Sr "A" hitters in my career. Maybe there are more guys capable of double clutching than I think. But until I see it happen, I'm sticking to my theory.

 

If Zack, or anyone else who throws mid 70's, dropped the change to 40mph - that would be a 35mph difference. Wow, what a spectrum!

 

I figure your goal for your change up should be "to embarrass the batter". That might sound a little extreme, but basically that's your ultimate goal.

 

You want him, or her, to miss so badly that they are ashamed and remember that pitch for the rest of the game - or even the season.

 

They become distracted and now your other pitches are going to be that much better. The slower the pitch - the greater the embarrassment.

 

So slow down your change up - you might be pleasantly surprised!

 

Next week's topic:

 

"The Fastest Pitch"