Different Types of Pitches in Baseball

Pitches are divided into three as fastballs, breaking balls and changeups. Fastballs can be thrown very fast. It is the most common pitch and can be thrown around 90 miles per hour. Fastballs are thrown at speeds of 95-104 mph and upto 107.9 mph. fastballs are divided into various types like four seam fastball, two seam fastball, cutter, forkball, and splitter. In four seam fastball grip the ball with your index and middle finger together across the horseshoe seam with your fingers spread apart slightly. Make sure your finger tips are a little bit over the laces. It is normally the fastest pitch a player has and can get as high as 100+mph. This fastball doesn’t have much movement, as pitchers just try and throw it past you. Two-seam fastball is also known as sinker.

Two-seam fastball has more downward movement during pitch. Cutter is a blend of slider and fastball. A forkball has a forward spin. The difference between splitter and forkball is that the splitter has a sudden drop to it and the forkball has more of a gradual drop. A pitcher who uses primarily breaking ball pitches is often referred to as a junkballer. A breaking ball is more difficult than a fastball for a catcher to receive as they sometimes hit the ground before making it to the plate.  Breaking balls are divided into three as curveball, slider and screwball. In curveball a pitcher puts top spin on a pitch in order for the ball to break or curve. A slider has more speed than a curveball, but less speed than a fastball. The screwball breaks in the opposite direction.

Changeups are divided into palm ball, circle change, super changeup. Practice the palm ball by using tighter and looser grips until you find how you can throw the pitch more effectively. In baseball, circle change up is a pitch thrown with a grip that includes circle information, hence the name. The super changeup is simply a changeup that has a larger speed deferential between it and the fastball. Other types of pitches include knuckleball, Eephus Pitch, spitball and gyro ball. The knuckleball is thrown to have as little spin on the ball as possible. The Eephus pitch is a pitch that is thrown in a high arch. A spitball is a pitch that will have spit or some other kind of liquid on it. A Gyro ball is a pitch that will have a bullet like spin.