man it was our last game of the season tonight and we are terrible so our normal pitcher let me pitch the last inning and i found out i wasn't too bad. then we played another game after our game because the field was empty and i did ok, the guys we played against were better so they were tattooing the ball, but i didn't walk anyone like our regular pitcher normally does. anyhow...i was curious if anyone knew how to do any special pitches in slow pitch? the guy we were playing against who was like 2 divisions ahead of us could throw like a knuckleball and i've heard other people can throw curve balls and stuff like that. if anyone knows how to do it let me know. cuz i wanna get good since pitching is fun as hell.
This seems like something that is impossible to explain without a live demo. Put a bunch of backspin on the ball to make the batter pop out, keep everything on the inside of the plate with a high arc. You can palm the ball and throw a "knuckle ball" type pitch with no spin - you can toss a lot of baseball pitches, but you have to exaggerate the spin and pressure to throw a "curve" (it’s not really a curve). Actually you are just increasing the chances with the spin you put on your pitch of where and how the batter will hit the ball. Tough to explain without a demo...
I have 5 pitches I can throw for strikes, and the knuckleball is the best on a windy day. I have been pitching Slow pitch softball for 20 years, I play 2nd base and pitcher on a league team in the highest league here in Austin.... I love softball, but with 2 kids I think I am going to have to give it up. The key to pitching well....or making it harder to hit....LOTS OF ARC, use as much as the umpire will give you. Also, go off your rythmn a bit, slow down and make the batter wait, it screws up their timing a bit. DD
Something I will do in the future is play in a softball league. I played it in intramurals at UT and loved it.
Hey if my roommate is ever online she may know about that because she plays hella softball. Her moniker on ClutchCity is candycane. She usually checks the board everyday, 10 times a day so when she sees this thread I'm sure she'll respond.
I was forced into pitching duty for a team I was playing on this past spring and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I can't do any of the trick pitches but a good strategy I came up with was to put it on the inside corner when you have two strikes on the hitter to get him to pull it foul. In most slow-pitch leagues, a foul on strike three is a strike out. And the best part of pitching is snagging the hotshot liner right back at you and then staring down the hitter on his way back to the dugout.
I see you're in the highest league here in Austin. Our team is in the lowest league possible in Austin and we still only won one game...lol. Mainly because we can't hit very well...me included. Anyhow, the little bit I did get to pitch I noticed that players did have much more trouble with high arcing pitches, but they are pretty hard to throw in the strike zone as well, but I did ok with them. I also noticed some of the pitchers in better leagues who would change the pace, like throw a pitch then throw the ball as soon as they got it back from the catcher, of how they pitched, which I thought was kind of cheesey and stupid. Do you know of any websites that show how to throw the pitches? Like the grip and motion and stuff. You said you have 5 pitches...what are they? I only know of the knuckler and the curve. I guess the others might be that backspin pitch and that forward spin pitch and something else. I noticed the forward spin pitch worked well if I got them to swing at it higher in the zone, but if it got in their wheel house...oh jesus it would fly!
Pun, quit talking about me behind my back. I do play softball, but I am the last person you would want to take advice from about pitching. I play infield or outfield, but pitching is a no no. Although, I used to pitch in little league against the boys. Talk about embarrassing some 13 year old guys. Those were the days. I have never attempted to pitch in slowpitch though. Call me a chicken if you would like, but I don't like standing in the middle of a firing range.
Oh I forgot to ask if anyone new of a good place to look for a new bat. What bat seems to be the hottest in the leagues you all play? Anyone hit the new Mizuno Crush? I heard it was supposed to be the best bat on the market for next season.
I played softball throughout college and grad school, and it was just recently that I, essentially, quit playing (Well I played 6 games this past season and 2 the year before that one). Unfortunately, I never could pitch - at least not be able to throw strikes on a consistent basis. robbie - the best thing for you to do is to get a buddy and go down to the softball field one day when no one else is around. Practice pitching to this guy if you are really serious about getting better. Experiment with standing on different places on the rubber (like in the middle, to the left, and to the right). Practice pitching with backspin, practice pitching with you moving towards home plate. Also, practice pitching where you DON'T move towards home plate. That last one is very important because it helps you get into better fielding position. A common thing that many inexperienced pitchers will do is release the ball and go towards home plate, not being in any position to field a ball if it is hit right back at them. And wouldn't you know that hitting up the middle is one of the easiest places to hit in slow-pitch softball?
I just did some bat shopping online this wwek. Here are two of the best sites: http://www.aluminumbats.com/bat_catalog/allbats.htm http://www.baseballcorner.com/cgi-b...v?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=BC&Category_Code=BAT
Oops, that baseballcorner.com link is for baseball...here: http://www.baseballcorner.com/cgi-b...reen=CTGY&Store_Code=BC&Category_Code=SFT_BAT
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