8 of The Most Popular Pitches in Baseball

 In baseball, there are many diverse types of pitches that can be thrown. Each of these pitches serves their own purpose in messing with the batter which keeps them guessing on what will be thrown next. In this post, I will be going over some of the more popular and common pitches you see being thrown as well as their purpose for being thrown. 

 

The Four-seam Fastball: 

    The four-seam fastball might be the most common pitch in all of baseball. The main goal when throwing this pitch is to throw it as hard and straight as possible. The pitcher hopes to maximize the velocity, arm slot, and to catch the batter off guard by the speed of the pitch. Starting with a four-seam fastball often messes up the batter which then can lead to him misjudging the next few pitches. The reason it is called a four-seam, is because as the ball is rotating in the air after being thrown, four of its seams are spinning against the air. The ball spinning this way makes it more aerodynamic, thus enabling you to throw this pitch very fast. 

The Two-seam Fastball:

    The two-seam fastball is typically taught to more experienced players and to players who want to add another pitch to their arsenal. Pitchers that learn this pitch then don't have to only rely on the four-seam fastball. The goal when throwing this pitch is to create an arm-side movement, and to throw a fastball not as fast as the four-seam. This pitch is called a two-seam because when it gets thrown, two of the baseball's seams spin against the air current which makes it less aerodynamic. It also causes the ball to move slightly, typically towards the pitcher's arm side. 

The Curveball:

    The curveball is a unique type of pitch that takes a lot of mastering and focus. The goal of a curveball is to deceive the batter by throwing a pitch that appears to follow a path, but then suddenly changes direction and "curves." A curveball will typically break and curve downward and towards home plate. The sharp break in the pitch is caused by the way the pitcher holds the ball when they throw it. The pitcher places a significant amount of spin to the ball, which then results in differences of air pressure on different sides of the ball. The grip and the differences of air pressure are what make the ball spin. This pitch is typically slower than a two or four-seam fastball, which just adds to the difficulty of trying to adjust to it.

Splitter:

    The splitter is one of the more interesting pitches to learn. The goal of a splitter is to create a pitch that looks like a fastball when first thrown, but then suddenly drops sharply as it gets closer to home plate. The splitter is designed to fool the batter into thinking a fastball is being thrown, only for them to realize it’s not when the pitch drops out of the strike zone. The splitter is able to drop down suddenly because of the downward movement on the ball. The pitcher causes this by gripping the ball with their fingers spread apart or "split" across the seams. This reduces backspin which then allows the ball to drop more dramatically than your average fastball.

The Cutter: 

    The cutter is a much more specific pitch than the rest. Instead of trying to outright fool the batter and have the ball drop away or curve from where they were expecting, the cutter just moves slightly towards the batter. The purpose of throwing a cutter is to create a pitch that slightly moves away from the batter's path of natural swing. The pitch moves away at the last moment, which makes it harder to get a solid hit off of and jams the batter up. If the batter does make contact, chances are it will either be a weak ground ball or a pop-up which are both very easy to field. The cutter is as effective as it is because it directly disrupts the batter's ability to make a good contact hit.

Changeup: 

    The changeup is a simpler pitch than the cutter in terms of form and its purpose. The changeups only goal is to confuse the batter and deceive them of what pitch is actually going to be coming down the plate. The changeup is thrown in a similar arm action as a two or four-seam fastball, but it has significantly reduced velocity compared to a fastball. The velocity difference and form similarity is what makes a changeup so effective. It causes the batter to swing much too early, leading to very weak contact or missing the ball all together. The changeup often has slight downward or sideways movement, which just adds to its effectiveness.

Slider:

    The slider is similar to the curveball, splitter, and cutter since all involve the ball sharply curving, breaking, or trying to make the batter have poor contact. The purpose of a slider is to create a pitch that breaks sharply and moves late in the pitch. The pitch deceives the batter since they see a ball that seems to be heading towards the strike zone, but then "slides" out of the zone or moves into a spot that makes it very difficult to hit. A slider is thrown slower than a fastball but just faster than a curveball, but usually breaks more than a curveball. The late movement of the slider makes it extremely hard for a better to adjust in time, which will usually result in poor contact or a strikeout.

Knuckleball: 

    Lastly, the knuckleball is the most unpredictable and isn't like any of the other pitches in my opinion. The purpose of throwing a knuckleball is to throw a pitch that is very unpredictable, erratic, and extremely difficult for the batter to successfully track and hit. A knuckleball is thrown with little to no spin on the ball, which causes the ball to be affected by air currents. The result of throwing it like this results in the ball "floating" with unpredictable movements in a certain direction. Many of the other pitches I listed above rely on sharp movements to confuse the batter, but the knuckleball’s effectiveness comes from its randomness and its unpredictability. Since it is different each time it’s thrown, the lack of consistency makes it one of the hardest pitches to adjust to as a batter.