Grip the ball along the seams, at the part of the ball where the seams are closest together, with your middle and index fingers and put your thumb under the ball, in the smooth area between the narrow seams. Exert pressure on the ball with your middle finger and thumb. This requires the hitter to be prepared for two pitches that look the same out of the pitcher’s hand but move in opposite directions. Because of the arm-side movement of the 2 seam fastball, it works great when it is paired with a sweeping slider or a fading changeup. Most baseball players were taught at an early age how to throw a 4 seam fastball.
You will find many pitchers who throw the traditional four-seam fastball over 100 miles per hour on the Major League Baseball level. An easy way to start experimenting is to throw the 4 seam in higher Lokations (7-10) and Red Box to keep the ball up, change the hitter’s eye level, and keep from getting more movement than you best soft toss machine want. Also keep opposite arm-side fastballs 4 seamers to make sure you can command that side of the plate without getting too much movement back over the plate in the Danger Zone. Use the 2 seamer for the 2 and arm-side Go Zone along with the 4 and arm-side Chase Zone to promote movement towards that side of the plate.
The reason for his success is the high location of his fastballs which complement his elite slider. His high fastballs seem to be even more effective from his low, submarine-style arm slot. This is probably the hardest fastball success factor to quantify since it all revolves around the perception of the batter. The longer a pitcher can “hide” the ball from the batter, the less time the batter will have to see and react to the pitch. This can be especially useful for pitchers who have a slight variance in release point as batters will not know where the pitch is coming from until it has been thrown. The idea of four-seam fastballs is speed, and it isn’t thrown to trick the batter.
In the end, most of them are established big leaguers and have pitched in the majors for a long time thanks to their high fastballs which play up due to their deceptive deliveries. Fastballs with lots of backspin can help to offset the effects of gravity on the baseball by reducing the amount of drop on the pitch due to the Magnus Effect. This can give batters the illusion of the vaunted “rising” fastball as the pitch drops less than normal . Sidearm pitchers usually get sidespin on their fastballs which leads to more horizontal movement and limited vertical movement. Pitchers with a three-quarter delivery will tend to get a mixture of both vertical, and horizontal movement on their fastballs.
Next spring Dana made the starting rotationat AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. His new increased movement on the baseball pitches slider and the different types of pitches with his lower arm slot sinker quickly made him a major league prospect again. Throwing with the two seam fastball gripis no different than the 4 seam fastball pitch. The 2 seam fastball is one of the differentbaseball pitches grips every pitcher should have. The fastball grip is the pitch to begin with when teaching youth pitchers how to throw pitches. Your index finger and middle finger should be about a half-inch apart.
So, both fastballs get their names from how many seams each rotation will reveal. Next, let’s take a closer look at the differences between 4 seam and 2 seam balls, so you can understand the situations when they might be used. This pitch is slightly more difficult to locate than the four-seamer, but still is thrown with good control. Next, place your thumb directly beneath the baseball, resting on the smooth leather . Ideally, you should rest your thumb in the center of the horseshoe seam on the bottom part of the baseball.
The pitch is held by the pitcher placing his or her index finger and middle fingers in between the two seams that run vertically up the baseball. When releasing the baseball, the pitcher can put more pressure on one of the two fingers, and the baseball will break in that direction. The four-seam fastball consists of a gentle grip and an easy release.
Knowing when to throw a 2 seam fastball compared to a 4 seam fastball is an important skill to harness. If you are behind in the count, it might not be wise to throw this type of pitch as it may “run away” from the strike zone. Not much more is needed to throw this type of pitch besides emphasizing strong backspin, so a looser grip will help maximize the whip off of your fingers. You will also find that a two-seamer typically has more velocity.
