Basic Pitch Grips

According to head baseball coach "Spanky" McFarland of James Madison University, the most important pitch a young pitcher needs to develop is his fastball. McFarland refers to a fastball as a pitcher's "staple" and estimates that he will throw it 50 percent to 100 percent of the time. He also recommends a pitch that changes speed and recommends learning a change-up pitch before a curveball. It is strongly emphasized by McFarland that a pitcher use the same arm slot and the same arm speed for all pitches.

  1. Four-Seam Fastball

    • Hold the baseball toward you so that the seams resemble a backward letter C or "across the horseshoe" of the ball. The index and middle finger of your pitching hand should be placed on top of the ball with the end joints of the fingers held over the seams to improve your grip. Your thumb should be held directly beneath them, positioned by an imaginary line from between the two top fingers to the nail of the thumb. Your ring finger and little finger flex together to help form the bottom platform upon which the ball rests. The ball should be held loosely in your hand with a minimum of a finger's width space between your palm and the ball.

    Two-Seam Fastball

    • The two-seam fastball is held with the fingers either atop the seams or across the seams. Both techniques are effective, however, you can often get a better "feel" for the pitch with your fingers across the seam. Hold the baseball toward you so that the seams resemble a large U or an upside down U. The thumb, ring and little fingers are held in the same position as for a four-seam fastball. Keep your fingers behind the baseball for faster velocity.

    Cut Fastball

    • Hold the baseball toward you so that the seams resemble a large U and temporarily hold your fingers the same as a four-seam or two-seam fastball. For the cut fastball grip, slide you thumb toward your ring and little fingers, outside of the imaginary center line. You will hold the ball slightly off center and because of this grip, the ball will have more sidespin away from your throwing side.

    Circle Change

    • Acircle change-up is thrown with the mechanics of a fastball so the only new aspect of this pitch will be the odd grip. Hold the ball in your pitching hand. Make the OK sign with your index finger and thumb forming a circle. Hold the ball in place with your middle and ring finger on top of the two narrowest seams. Your little finger rides lightly alongside the holding fingers. When thrown with fastball arm speed, the hand naturally pronates or tops the ball to create a screwball-type movement.