The Curveball

Every kid in America wants to throw the curveball, from the time they step on a baseball field. The problem is, most, if not all kids, don't know how to throw the pitch properly. Most kids grip the ball, wind up, and twist their wrists, as if they were screwing a light bulb to the ceiling. This is one reason kids develop elbow problems at a young age. Two things must happen in order to prevent elbow soreness due to the curveball. 1) A pitcher must learn from an early age how to properly throw the curveball and 2) His coach should not call it every other pitch, as I have see all the way up through the high school ranks. To my first point, on how to throw the pitch properly, one tool I picked up at Middle Tennessee State University was the double ball. Our pitching coach, Kevin Erminio (Kennessaw State, Miami OH, MTSU, Clemson), taught us how to throw the pitch properly with the double ball. The double ball is simple; two baseballs wrapped in duct tape or athletic tape. With the bottom ball in hand, a pitcher throws the ball exactly like his fastball, until his hand gets out in front of him. When his hand gets in front of him, he then releases the ball, pointing his index finger and thumb at the target, as if it were a gun, for lack of a better term. It should be noted that most of the pressure in his fingers should be in his middle finger and thumb as he grips the ball through his delivery. The index finger is just along for the ride. If the double ball is thrown correctly, it will spin in a 12-6/1-7 rotation for righties, and 12-6/11-5 for lefties. Practice with the double ball should consist of no more than 2 sets of 8-10 repetitions. Once completed, the pitcher should pick up a baseball, grip it exactly as he gripped the double ball, and go through the same motion. If done correctly, the ball will break in the same plane as the double ball.