Movement Pitches and Change-Up

Change Up Intro

For our change-up, we want to make it look like a fastball, but be about 10-15mph slower than our fastball. There is a lot of debate about what the ideal speed difference is for a change-up. The answer is, if it works, it works. If your change-up is consistently effective in games and it is consistently fooling batters and they are either stunned and watching it go by for a strike, or they’re swinging and missing, it is a good change up.

So many of my pitchers with great change ups come to me and tell me their head coaches are trying to mess with their change-up. They’ll either tell them it’s too slow, it’s too fast, but mostly they nit-pick their release. Again, if the pitch is working, it’s working.

FOR PITCHERS WHO STRUGGLE WITH CHANGE UP: Your arm is either too loose and heavy or you’re driving too much with your legs.

Circle Change Up

Flip Change Up 1

Flip change-up is something you ideally want to learn when you’re young (ages 9-12) because it takes at least a couple months to master. It is the most effective change-up in my opinion and the easiest to hide.

Flip Change Up 2

My trick for circle change is to keep the circle on top of the ball throughout your arm circle. This stiffens up the arm and keeps it from being whippy, which creates speed and spin. It also makes it so that the fingers are on top of the ball and not behind the ball on release. We need to keep the fingers away from the back of the ball on release to prevent the ball from snapping fast out of the hand.

Knuckle Ball

I threw a knuckle ball change-up and it was incredibly effective, however I do not really teach it unless someone really wants to try it because it is harder to hide and a lot of college coaches don’t like it for that reason. You must have flexible fingers to be able to throw a knuckle ball. If you do not have a backswing, I highly encourage you to try a knuckle ball. you can even have this as a second off-speed pitch.

Pull Back Change Up

Anchor the drag leg on take off and pull the hand or elbow, which ever feels easier to focus on, back to the hip after release. This is not a popular one, but may click for some people.

Roll Over Change Up

Roll the hand over the ball from right to left on release (left to right if you’re lefty). This is one of my least favorite change-ups as I feel it can be hard on the shoulder.

Movement Pitches

True Spin vs Break

Why people obsess over how the ball is spinning, I do not know. Again, it is impossible to get 100% true spin and still throw the ball fast due to the way the arm naturally spins and rotates as it swings. Your hand is on the end of the arm, so it will also spin and rotate in a circular motion. A good movement pitch will MOVE. WHO CARES HOW IT’S SPINNING. You should be able to see the trajectory/path of the ball change with your eyes.

Movement Pitches Explanation

How we tilt our body (where we move our xiphoid in relation to our feet) will determine how the arm swings and rotates. This will determine how the hand goes around the ball.

  • If the hand goes over the ball on release, the ball will drop.

  • If the hand goes under the ball on release, the ball will rise.

  • If the hand goes around the outside of the ball on release, the ball will curve.

  • If the hand goes inside the ball on release, the ball will screw.

    *We want to create unbalanced spin on the ball to get the ball to break (change direction). If we get our hand to go around one side of the ball instead of all the way around the ball like we do on a fastball, then we end up spinning that side of the ball faster than the other side. This causes the axis of rotation of the ball to wobble, which causes the ball to break.

Why True Spin Isn’t Real

It isn’t possible to get 100% true spin. It NEVER happens consistently on any type of pitching data measurement tool if at all. The arm and hand rotate in a circular motion. You would have to slow the arm down significantly to prevent this from happening. That’s why a lot of pitchers will complain about wrist and forearm pain after working on their movement pitches. They are working on something unnatural and inefficient that involves a stiff forearm to focus on wrist movement. Trust me, my way is WAY easier and more effective.

How Shifting the Body Weight Affects the Arm

As I’ve mentioned before, the xiphoid is the key to everything. Land with your xiphoid shifted slightly to the side of the foot in the direction you want the ball to break. Make sure you hold the xiphoid there on landing and don’t move it. If you land with the xiphoid shifted to a certain side, but then you move it as you release, it won’t work.

  • If you land with your xiphoid to the glove side of your foot, the ball will curve.

  • If you land with the xiphoid to the throwing side of the foot, the ball will screw.

  • If you land with the xiphoid over the foot, the ball will drop.

  • If you land with the xiphoid behind the foot, the ball will rise.

    * You can also combine these to create movement pitch combinations like drop-curve, Scrise, etc.

Movement Pitches Explanation 2

Basic Cues for Shifting Body Weight

Change Up Grips

Arm Circle for Movement Pitches

How we swing our arm in our pitch will also effect how the ball breaks.

  • If you swing your arm tight to the body, the arm will swing wide on release, causing the ball to curve.

  • If you swing the arm away from the body, the arm will swing tight to the body, causing the ball to screw.

  • If you swing the arm low and heavy on release, the ball will rise.

  • If you swing the arm high (think light and short arm) on release, the ball will drop.

Drop Ball

Drop Ball 2

Drop Curve

Screw Ball

Screw Ball 2

Screw Ball Tricep Cue

Drop Screw

Screwball Example

Curve Ball Cues

Curve Ball Tricep Cue

Curve Ball Example

Rise Ball

The Truth About the Rise Ball

Rise Ball Example

Movement Pitches Are Mental

Definitely watch! I really am open to whatever cue works for you. If you want to think about turning the door knob or anything like that, that’s fine, as long as you still have a whippy release and the pitch is visibly breaking.

Spinning the Ball