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| SOFTBALL LINKS |
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Yes, Virginia, There Is A Knuckleball
by Dave
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Virgina writes in to inquire as to whether there is such a thing as a fastpitch softball knuckleball. Here's my response:
Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as a fastpitch softball knuckle ball. But you won't see it often and it is of questionable utility. Allow me to explain.
Several years ago, a friend of mine was bragging about his daughter's pitching. He bragged about how she had pitched a perfect game in a middle school competition. He explained to me that his daughter was extremely successful not because she threw with any velocity but because she had control and movement. Then he went on to list the litany of pitches she used and when he got to the knuckle ball I was dumbfounded. My curiosity was piqued. So I asked him how you throw it and he showed me that it is almost identical to the way you would throw it in hard ball. I vowed to one day really learn to throw it so I could teach my kids.
More recently I purchased one of a series of videos called "Coaches Choice," or something like that, which contained "advanced pitches and drill" as taught by the pitching coach at Cal State Fullerton. As it happens, one of the reasons I bought this tape was because it purported to teach the softball knuckleball. And I remembered my vow to one day learn it. The video taught the pitch the same way my friend explained it, the same way I had learned it in hardball. But the coach really mentioned it in passing as one of many ways to throw a change-up.
Basically, you dig your finger nails into the seam of the ball and when you throw the pitch, you push against the normal spin of the ball. In hardball, the spin normally is backspin. In fastpitch, the spin is normally overspin. But with a knuckleball, what you are after is virtually no spin. So your fingers push against that normal spin and the ball should never complete more than one or two full rotations in the air - ideally no full rotations.
The effect of knuckling in hardball is the pitch comes in slower than other pitches - almost floating - and it darts some but in an unpredictable manner. A hardball fastball at the highest levels is generally between 88 and 92. The two seamer and other sinkers generally run at the low end of that range though some few practitioners bring it in the 90s. The slider (late breaking, short curveball) is generally thrown in the range of 85-90. The bigger breaking curveball can be anywhere from 80 to 88 though the slower you throw it, the more it should break. Change-ups vary in the big leagues but they are usually ten or more miles per hour slower than the top end of the four seam fastball. By way of contrast, a high quality knuckleball is usually thrown around 70.
In softball, the speed variances between pitches depend greatly upon the pitcher and her choice of the way she throws a particular pitch. Top fastballs run into the 60s. So does a "power" drop, rise or screwball. But there are slower versions of these pitches. Curves generally vary quite a bit too depending on the way you choose to throw it. There is a fastpitch version of the hardball slider which has to be thrown hard to be effective since the break is slighter than the sweeping curve or dropball. And there are several kinds of curves and drops that a given pitcher might use. In fastpitch a broader variety of pitches is generally employed. A given pitcher might have an effective slider, sweeping curve, drop curve and straight down breaking curve. But usually she will settle on about three main pitches which get her the outs. And the speed variances will depend on the type of each pitch she throws.
Usually the 3 main pitches do not include the fastball since it is a little too easy to hit in fastpitch. Fastballs are thrown but only as a smaller part of the overall mix. So a pitcher uses maybe the drop, a curve and a change-up. Or maybe she uses the rise, a screwball, and a change-up. But most likely what she uses as her three main pitches are all thrown at different speeds. And perhaps she adds a fourth and/or fifth secondary pitch to her repertoire to keep the batters honest. She may add change-ups that mimic one of her other pitches or a curve that looks like her drop or whatever. But the knuckleball is usually only added as one variety within her stable of change-ups.
Knuckleballs are not all that common in hardball. That's because they are difficult to throw effectively. In order to throw the knuckle, you have to have it dart all over the place. And if you are able to do that, it is difficult for the catcher to catch so there are a lot of passed balls. Your average typical MLB all-star catcher has great difficulty catching a high quality knuckleball. Witness Jason Varitek of the Bosox who gladly rode the pine in favor of Doug Mirabelli whenever Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballer, pitched.
For whatever reason, the fastpitch softball version of the knuckleball does not move nearly as much as the baseball version. I suspect that you can figure out why based on the comments of baseball knuckleball pitchers who give the credit for their best performances to the weather - wind speed and humidity. Part of the reason a knuckleball is effective is it allows the wind to play it. If it is windy out, batters have more trouble with it. If the air is heavy, the ball seems to move more. If it is cool, dry and the air is still, a knuckleball doesn't move much.
I suspect that reasons why the softball knuckle doesn't move as much is the ball is heavier requiring more wind speed to move it around. And because the pitching distance is so much shorter, the ball doesn't get much opportunity to knuckle. If the softball knuckleball moved as much as it does in baseball, it would probably be discouraged since softball is more of a speed and baserunning game than baseball is. It is essential for the catcher to catch every ball since one run often determines the winner.
As things are, the knuckleball is really only one of several choices a pitcher has for change-ups. And not nearly the best option at that. This is because unlike in baseball where the pitcher tries to not allow the batter to see the ball until the last fraction of a second, in fastpitch with the windmill motion, the batter has a very good view of the ball long before it is released. A good batter should easily be able to pick out the knuckleball when the pitcher is at the top of her windmill rotation. She can relax knowing that a pitch of 40-45 is on the way and since, the knuckle action isn't nearly as prevalent, she isn't worried about hitting it once she knows it is coming. Perhaps the single most important element of any successful change-up is the element of surprise. If you are telegraphing a change by showing the batter your grip, you are not going to be successful.
So, yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as a knuckleball in softball but it is used infrequently and probably shouldn't concern you.Labels: pitching
 
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