When should a pitcher learn the curve ball

what? then you must be pitching one inning. I don't care who is teaching you, if you throw 3 innings or more, you are gonna have some normal stiffness and soreness. what level baseball are you playing?

 

The problem of teaching youngsters a curve ball at an early age is the tendency to sublimate the hand during the delivery in order to get the proper rotation. The causes the Olecranon process and the ligaments attached to it rotate before the growth plate closes. Kids end up with their palm facing their face during the delivery and, unless you are a really good instructor, you may not pick up on their flaw.

If you don't catch this one, you will end up with fractures through the growth plate of the elbow and bone chips in the elbow at a very young age.

You don't teach a screw-ball to youngsters for the same reason. They have a tendency to pronate the hand which puts stress on the olecranon process and the same injuries may occur (but faster).

Throwing side-arm hyper-extends the elbow in youngsters. Throwing too much over the top (pure overhand) can impinge the rotator cuff.

I don't have a problem with most pitches as long as you have a good, trained pitching instructor who is capable of picking up flaws in their delivery and correcting them before they injure themselves. That's why I don't want "Johnny" to learn curves from the kid next door and then show up and throw them in a game. If you don't have access to a good pitching instructor, wait until H.S. to learn a curve ball. It's the safest route.

 

Up and In was all-state this year in H.S. and will be pitching for (shudder) UNC next season. He's also the best conditioned baseball player I've ever seen.

 

I agree with you bball that it is safest to wait on the curve, but if done right, it is ok for a 10 year old.

I find it hard to believe that you are saying you have never been sore after pitching a high school game.

 

up/in, that is not Tom House theory. That is mechanics 101 that every good pitching coach needs to know. That is not something he invented. House has apparently made some adustments and admits he was wrong at one time on things. I can only tell you that I saw Reid Ryan and Tim Greive (Ben's bro) doing millions of sit ups and throwing towels non stop thinking it helped them, while both of them couldn't break 85 mph, and were no better than the non Tom House pitchers on our team.

 

Changeups:

The circle change isn't the only change. Youngsters can learn several changes that don't involve the circle grip and that don't change the arm speed.

One of the most effective to learn at a young age is to just the ball back further in your hand (palm ball) and then throw it normally. The rotation and velocity is diminished. The velocity, because you won't be giving the ball the "wrist snap" and the rotation because it's not out in your fingertips. With less rotation, the ball will slow quicker on it's way to the plate. Net effect: Effective change at any age.

The circle change is great for getting a change-up that breaks, but for young pitchers, the change in velocity along with deception is all that is needed.

 

Change-up

I have a question about the change-up for you pitchers out there.... I've noticed that some of the kids in my area that are pretty good pitchers have been going with the split grip change-up where the ball is placed in the hand like a splitter but unlike between the index finger and the middle finger, but between the middle finger and ring finger.... is this for a splitter like drop to fool the hitter or just another way to throw a change-up???

 

Just another change up .....

The key with changeups is to be able to control it, regardless of your grip. You need to be able to throw it from strikes and to also throw it just out of the zone. This grip sounds like a modification of a circle change with the fingers spread a little.

Check where the thumb is ... that will control the direction of break on the pitch.

 

I've seen it underneath the ball and on the side of the ball... it just depends on who's throwing it

 

leaving the thumb on the side will make the ball move to the throwing arm side usually.