Bullet spin

[lostcreek1]

So a month or so ago as me and DD was pitching she says here comes my special fastball. She is 8 playing up in 10u. It was a bullet spin and prob 2-3 mph faster than her regular fastball. Since then she has been throwing it in games mixing it in with her regular fastball which has really good fastball spin, and her changup which is still a work in progress. Anyone else DD throw a pitch like this, do you see any harm in her throwing it? She thinks it is the greatest thing ever and a pitch she invented.

 

[Lance Steckler]

besides the fact that bullet spin normally goes straight versus movement caused by spin, nothing wrong with an occasional jump in Velo.

 

[uncdrew]

besides the fact that bullet spin normally goes straight versus movement caused by spin, nothing wrong with an occasional jump in Velo.

I tend to agree, at that age. I'm not an expert, but it's generally not the spin you want, as it's more like a football and makes the ball go straight. And a straight fastball might end up straight over the straight center field fence (at older ages).

But in 10U, speed kills. At 35 feet you can simply blow the ball by almost every batter - at least that was my experience.

I'd talk to the pitching coach about it though. You probably don't want to "permanentailze" that motion.

 

[Gags]

have her learn to throw it at the letters and let her call it a rise ball. Much less dangerous than a fastball with a 12-6 spin that might "drop" and end up belt high.

 

[ArmWhip]

In spite of it's bad reputation as a pitch that goes 'straight' bullet spin is very common and I see it all the time when I watch D1 games on TV. I think of it as 'the poor man's rise ball'. I teach it all the time in combination with a top spin fastball. 'Top spin down, bullet spin up', that's what I tell them. With the WCWS being on TV this week there will be a lot of good slo-mo replays and you will see far more bullet rise balls than you will see back spin ones. When you say 'fastball' spin what do you mean?

 

[lostcreek1]

When you say 'fastball' spin what do you mean?

Just the normal fastball spin spinning toward home plate. Is there some other way for a fastball to spin. Although hers is usually cock off a little bit to the side.

 

[Westwind]

In spite of its bad reputation as a pitch that goes 'straight' bullet spin is very common and I see it all the time when I watch D1 games on TV. I think of it as 'the poor man's rise ball'. I teach it all the time in combination with a top spin fastball. 'Top spin down, bullet spin up', that's what I tell them. With the WCWS being on TV this week there will be a lot of good slo-mo replays and you will see far more bullet rise balls than you will see back spin ones. When you say 'fastball' spin what do you mean?

I completely agree.

Every pitch that The Hair called a curve, back door curve, screw blah blah blah in the SEC tournament had the SEC logo like a big dot on the back of the ball.

 

[Lance Steckler]

honestly, any spin other than true bullet spin, is desirable. bullet spin tends to make the pitch stay straighter. curve, drop, etc. spin makes them move. Good hitters will see the 'dot' on the ball and know it's not curving. Like seeing a slider in baseball.

 

[_MIA_]

I completely agree.

Every pitch that The Hair called a curve, back door curve, screw blah blah blah in the SEC tournament had the SEC logo like a big dot on the back of the ball.

Daniel Dale hasn't been as busy the last few years..ESPN should employ him to fact check the broadcast comments on pitches in real time.

 

[HunterMO]

Couple thoughts.....

1. Love that it's her special pitch. It means she's proud of finding it and noticing it's different (and has worked to replicate it)

2. She's 8 pitching in 10u, let her have some fun trying things while at home (or in the cage) practicing. It keeps it fun for her, and eventually allows her to work through what does and doesn't work (as she gets older).

3. Bullet spin placed high can act as a suedo-rise ball. But is simply a high fastball, obviously. In 10u, that location causes A LOT of chases because it sure looks good. Sure, most of those in 10u are accidents since almost everyone is learning to pitch at that age. Though, at older ages/better skill levels, if it's not high enough batters will knock that out of the park.

4. This is one man's opinion.... though she's young, instill the need for non-bullet spin rotation now. While having fun and playing around is important, ball movement is a key cog to success later. Even in HS, successful pitchers who "throw gas" have movement to their pitch. Otherwise, if not, they're getting timed as the order comes through for a second round. DD knows which school league pitchers don't have movement, and those are always her favorite to face. Can a pitcher have success with bullet spin? Sure. But I'd suspect they also have good-to-great spot accuracy along with ability to change speeds. But if you can add ball movement to spots and change speed, why wouldn't you?

5. Back to #1 and #2, let her have her fun.