The sinker is a pitch with hard downward movement, known for inducing ground balls. It’s generally one of the faster pitches thrown and, when effective, induces some of the weakest contact off the bats of opposing hitters.
The sinker is a pitch with hard downward movement, known for inducing ground balls. It’s generally one of the faster pitches thrown and, when effective, induces some of the weakest contact off the bats of opposing hitters.
The main difference between curveballs and sinkers is in their trajectory as they fly to the home plate. As their names say, curveballs curve, while the sinkers sink. Curveball pitches start high and then break down or diagonally across the hitting zone, creating an arc or “curve”.
It’s safe for any age pitcher to throw. You could be 7 years old and in your first year of kid pitch or 27 years old in your 5th season in the bigs. It’s safe and effective, that’s why we call it the mother of all pitches. You Don’t Need Crazy Movement To Make Hitters Look Foolish With Your New Sinker.
Another difference in movement is that the sinker features a more gradual curve downwards, while the splitter acts more like a breaking pitch and suddenly drops. Both pitches are hurled at high velocity, with the splitter slightly slower of the two.
The sinker should look like it’ll be an easier ball to hit until the last second when it begins to quickly drop toward the ground. Aim at the batter’s waist or belt area when throwing the ball to give it enough room to sink without hitting the ground.
Another difference in movement is that the sinker features a more gradual curve downwards, while the splitter acts more like a breaking pitch and suddenly drops. Both pitches are hurled at high velocity, with the splitter slightly slower of the two.
In baseball, a sinker or sinking fastball is a type of fastball which has significant downward and horizontal movement and is known for inducing ground balls.
Definition. A screwball is a breaking ball designed to move in the opposite direction of just about every other breaking pitch. It is one of the rarest pitches thrown in baseball, mostly because of the tax it can put on a pitcher’s arm.
An illegal pitch may be quick pitch (i.e. a pitch made before the batter is properly set in the batter’s box), a pitch made while the pitcher is not in contact with the pitching rubber, or one in which he takes an extra step while making his delivery.
Each baseball player has their own specialties. However, the two pitches that stand out to be the hardest to hit are the splitter and the slider.
A sinker is a fastball that has downward, sinking movement. It’s thrown at the same speed as the four-seam fastball but typically comes out a little bit slower by 2-3%. Sinkers are great for getting hitters to hit the top-half of the pitch, thus creating lots of easy-to-field ground balls and double plays.
Greg Maddux’s 2-Seam Fastball.
Sandy Alcantara And Jack Flaherty Throw MLB’s Best Two-Seam Fastballs/Sinkers. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
It is far easier for a hitter to adjust up and down during his swing than in or out. So, a sinker is far more difficult to hit on the sweet spot than a fastball or even a curve. Hitting a sinker more often results in an off sweet spot collision.
It is far easier for a hitter to adjust up and down during his swing than in or out. So, a sinker is far more difficult to hit on the sweet spot than a fastball or even a curve. Hitting a sinker more often results in an off sweet spot collision.
Use in the Major Leagues
The forkball has been favored by several current and former major league pitchers, including Tom Henke, Kevin Appier, Hideo Nomo, José Valverde, José Arredondo, Ken Hill, Justin Speier, Kazuhiro Sasaki, José Contreras, Chien-Ming Wang, Junichi Tazawa, Robert Coello, and Edwar Ramírez.
It is far easier for a hitter to adjust up and down during his swing than in or out. So, a sinker is far more difficult to hit on the sweet spot than a fastball or even a curve. Hitting a sinker more often results in an off sweet spot collision.
Use in the Major Leagues
The forkball has been favored by several current and former major league pitchers, including Tom Henke, Kevin Appier, Hideo Nomo, José Valverde, José Arredondo, Ken Hill, Justin Speier, Kazuhiro Sasaki, José Contreras, Chien-Ming Wang, Junichi Tazawa, Robert Coello, and Edwar Ramírez.
Bill James cites Curt Simmons as the first pitcher to be able to throw both sinking and hopping fastballs, apparently indicating that it was now known how to make a pitch sink and how to make one hop.
2-seam fastball (sinker)
This pitch moves arm side of the pitcher and down. This movement is a result of the seams catching the air in a way that pushes the ball down and in to righties from a right handed pitcher. 1-3 mph slower than the 4-seamer.
Definition. A changeup is one of the slowest pitches thrown in baseball, and it is predicated on deception. The changeup is a common off-speed pitch, and almost every starting pitcher owns a changeup as part of his arsenal.
Rip Sewell, a pitcher on the Pittsburgh Pirates, came up with the Eephus pitch in the ’40s. The name originates from the Hebrew word “efes,” which means nothing. Since the pitch is seen as a junk pitch since there is nothing special on it, the Hebrew phrase perfectly describes the nothing pitch.
This 35.1 MPH Frank Schwindel pitch is the slowest (known/measured) MLB pitch to ever get hit for a home run!
By lubricating the ball—with saliva, Vaseline, hair grease, or something else—the pitcher can throw a pitch that slides off his fingers without generating too much backspin. A greased-up pitch behaves kind of like a split-fingered fastball—it drops to the ground faster than a typical pitch.