As a baseball player, learning how to throw different styles of pitches to strike out your opponent is necessary to give you and your team a competitive edge. While there are many different ways to pitch a baseball, certain types of pitches are harder for batters to read, making it harder for them to hit. We'll be discussing the screwball pitch in this article. A screwball is very similar to a curveball, except the screwball will trend downward instead of outward or inward. The ball's rotation makes it harder for a batter to gauge the direction it travels and can be a great way to trick your opponent when pitching. To learn how to throw a screwball, keep reading!
Grip The Ball In Your Pitching Hand
As with any pitch, how you grip the baseball will set up the entire pitch. For the screwball, you are going to want to start with the baseball in your dominant hand. Set the baseball in the upper portion of your palm, ensuring that both sets of seams are visible.
Position Your Middle And Pointer Finger On The Top Of The Ball
With both sets of seams visible, let your middle and pointer fingers wrap around the top of the ball and rest on the inner side of each seam. This will allow you to have traction and grip when throwing the ball. This grip will vary from player to player, so ensure that you do what feels comfortable for you through practice.
Grip The Bottom Of The Ball With Your Thumb
Allow your thumb to cup the ball from the bottom, creating a "claw"-type grip. This will allow you to move the ball in the direction you want without losing grip. Make sure your grip is firm but not too tight. Grip the ball with the pad of the thumb, not the whole finger, to ensure a quick release.
Get Into Normal Pitching Stance
As with any pitch, you will want to put your dominant foot to the rear and nondominant foot forward, facing the appropriate side, depending on which hand you pitch with. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, while allowing your upper body to relax. Keep your eye on the batter while keeping the ball and your grip hidden in your glove to ensure the batter does not read your pitch.
Locate Your Throwing Target
The goal of throwing a screwball is to strike out an opposite-handed batter. For right-handed pitchers, you will want to set the ball on the lower right side of left-handed batters, and the opposite is true for left-handed pitchers.
Start Your Windup
The windup for a screwball is very similar to any pitch. You will want to take a slight step back and raise your knee on your nondominant leg to keep your balance. Bring both hands up like you are throwing a fastball, and bring your pitching arm up and back into the throwing position.
Take A Step Forward To Throw
Bring your knee down with a large width between both feet to create a larger base to stabilize yourself on (about twice the length of your normal pitching stance). At this point, your pitching arm should be in line with your shoulder and your forearm upright. To help build velocity, keep your core tight and your shoulder relaxed.
Lean Into The Pitch
The next few steps happen fast, but you must ensure your moves are calculated. When going for the pitch, you will want to shift your body weight over the front leg while allowing your pitching arm to trail behind you. Ensure that your palm always faces the batter for a more accurate pitch. To add more power, rotate your hips a bit toward the pitch.
Rotate Your Wrist Inward
You will want to bring your pitching arm down in a tight arc to get the perfect release. Begin rotating your wrist and forearm as you reach complete extension to the point where your knuckles point in your body's direction. Screwballs require a lot of torque for the ball to curve to one side.
Release The Ball
Once your arm becomes level with your face, release the ball and allow it to leave quickly. Ensure that your fingers are out of the way, minus your pointer finger, which you will use to spin the ball. Allow your pointer finger to drag alongside the ball quickly to make the ball curve. When done correctly, this will give the ball enough curve to break in the opposite direction as a screwball should.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
Now that you know how to throw a screwball, you can practice this pitch to figure out which grip is more comfortable. One important thing to remember is to practice safely to ensure that you are not overstraining your wrist or arm. This can cause serious injury that could cause you to miss games or whole seasons.
