Curve Ball
Pitching is not just about who can throw the
fastest. The most successful pitchers are the ones that
can control there pitches and switch up their pitch type
for the right situations. The use of off speed pitches is
very important to keep batters off balance and to keep
pitchers in control. A curve ball is one of the more
popular off speed pitches that is very effective if used
correctly. While almost everyone knows what a curve ball
is, very few people know why they move the way they do.
Most people think it is the seams of the baseball catching
through the air. While this does help, a curve ball gets
most of its movement from the spin on the ball causing
pressure imbalances. As you can see in the picture to the
left, when the ball has front spin on it, this creates
higher pressure on the top of the ball and lower pressure
on the bottom of the ball. This is called the Magnus
Effect. A fastball spins backwards, opposite of a curve
ball, and has the same effect., However, the ball does not
rise opposite of a curve ball. This is due the force of
gravity, a curve ball makes a force downward with gravity,
that is why there is such a dramatic drop.Knuckle Ball
The knuckle ball is a pitch that not a
lot of people have the ability to throw. It is a very
low speed pitch that, when thrown right, appears to zig
zag in the air as it approaches the plate. This is a
very hard pitch to hit because it is so unpredictable on
where it will move. Even the masters of the knuckle ball
such as RA Dickey don't even know why the ball does what
it does. This concept even took scientists a while to
figure out. Recently physicists fount that as the ball
travels through the air vortex like air flows spin off
its path throwing the ball in unpredictable directions.
The less spin on the ball the more zig zag the pitcher
will get out of the pitch. This is not only seen in
baseball, but is also seen a lot in volleyball, soccer
and cricket.
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Knuckle Ball thrown by RA Dickey
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Curve Ball thrown by Felix Hernandez
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