Change-ups Improves Your Fastball And Reduces Pitch Counts

http://www.pitching.com Changeups upset hitter's timing.
If a pitcher wants to enhance his fastball and make it look faster then changing speeds with a change-up is important for pitching success.

A change-up is easy to learn when the pitcher finds a grip that is comfortable. No grip is better than another grip. I personally like a box change rather than a circle change because the grip is simpler...especially for kids who have smaller hands. It is the grip that kills the change-up's velocity.

I suggest a light grip so the ball is thrown as if it feels like an egg. Or you can tuck it back deep in the hands.
A change-up should be from 10-20 mph less than a pitcher's fastball speed.

The key is not necessarily how much the change-up moves but rather whether it looks like a fastball to the hitter.

A successfully thrown change-up can reduce pitch counts because hitters are more likely to miss-hit a properly thrown change-up.

A change-up should be thrown off the fastball which forces the hitter to slow down his bat speed.

A change-up can be a great first pitch or a strikeout pitch if thrown in the dirt when ahead in the count. I would highly suggest that pitchers think about the change-up as a pitch that you want the hitter to make contact with.
The key to a great change-up is to set time aside during every practice session and throw it. And then take it into the game.

Hitters will tell you how good your change-up is by how they react to it.
http://www.pitching.com

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[wogdoggy]

@noahmcdx nope,,you have it correct

[noahmcdx]

@wogdoggy was that in reply to me? What I was saying was timing differences, not velocity differences. A 92 mph fastball should have a 83-85 mph changeup and a 76-80 mph curveball.

[noahmcdx]

@wogdoggy By the way, that's not really physics. Physics are the way things react to certain forces & what not. All your talking about is internal timing, which is not effected if their is no fastball previous to the changeup for the hitter to base his timing off. Your swing does not change based on where the ball is(inside versus outside). The only difference is your timing, which is why an outside pitch seems slower. You have to wait longer to hit it properly; opposite w/ an inside pitch.

[noahmcdx]

@wogdoggy What you don't do is go fastball outside then changeup inside. Because that would appear almost the same speed. The batter's timing on both pitches would be very similar. If you start a hitter off with a changeup inside, what does it matter? You didn't throw a fastball earlier in the atbat to get him off balance, so the premise of the changeup inside, and then outside, is to set up the fastball inside. And that two-pitch combo sets up an inside fastball better than any other.

[wogdoggy]

wow..thats too big a difference and way to noticable to a veteran hitter..change about 8mph to 11 slower..th

[wogdoggy]

@noahmcdx outside to a right..his barrel is GONE of the outside part of the plate FIRST..he's early with the bat he has ZERO chance..if the ball is inside he WILl have a better chance being early on his swing..the barrel passes the inside of the plate LAST..its just basic physics.i'm not saying you cant get a guy out on the inside part but the pitch design and the physics of the swing gives you a better success outside

[noahmcdx]

@wogdoggy Any difference in speed larger than 18 mph(but less than a certain point, probably 26 mph or so),so long that the hitter isn't sitting on it, is impossible for the batter's eye to track it and put a bat on it, unless by complete luck, of course (74 mph - 94 mph)

[noahmcdx]

@wogdoggy Second pitch of the atbat could be a 80 mph low and away changeup, which appears to seem at 74, for the same reason - you have to let it travel another 2 feet or so to hit it the other way. Next pitch would be 88 mph fastball in on the hands, and that looks like its 94. Popup or strikeout everytime.

[noahmcdx]

@wogdoggy not true. Somewhat true, but not necessarily true. Depends who you're throwing to. Righty vs lefty, or lefty vs righty, a 80 mph change up inside to start off an atbat appears to be 86 mph, because every foot the ball doesn't travel thats another 3 mph of reaction time. So to hit an inside pitch, you have to hit it ABOUT 2 feet more out in front to get good wood on it.

[noahmcdx]

The changeup is not supposed to be 10-20 mph slower. Your curveball is your slowest pitch, and a good curveball has 12-6 spin, and it's about 15 mph. Why do you think people are out in front of changeups more than they are curveballs? Because a curveball has such a large difference in speed, it's recognizable. A perfect changeup would be about 7-8 mph slower than the fastball, give or take a little bit.