Curve vs Drop-Curve

[Dave619]

My 14yo DD has 3 pitches that she considers her primary pitches....change, drop and drop-curve. She is a RHP and I know from reading in the past that a lot of you do not like the drop-curve pitch, especially for a RHP. She has a great drop ball and right now her drop-curve seems to be her dominant pitch. She works to throw it at the knees in the zone or make it break down harder out of the zone. She works to move this inside and outside.

If she is able to do this and be consistent, is there a big deal with not throwing a palm-up curve? She played in a 16u showcase this weekend against a lot of good teams and had great success with that pitch. She faced 45 batters and gave up 7 hits.

I know the drop curve is really just a variation of her drop. I am just trying to think long term and get some perspective on this. Is this one of those things where "there is more than one way to skin a cat" and if it works for her then keep rolling with it? Her change, seems to compliment her drops with the action she gets from it. I guess I would call it a backhand flip change.

Thanks for your advice and perspective.

 

[Ken B]

Here's some threads on the topic:

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/16030-curve-ball-palm-up-palm-down.html
http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/14132-curve-releases.html
http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-pitching/14585-crop.html

 

[riseball]

IMO the reason many do not like the drop curve is simple - their pitchers cannot command and/or their catchers suck.

 

[JAD]

My DD loves throwing drop curves, but it came naturally to her since she first learned to throw a curve ball with her hand on top of the ball (12 years old). When she switch to IR (14 years old) she switched to her hand under the ball curve, but we kept the hand over the ball as a drop curve and modified the finish over her left knee.

My pitch philosophy is "when in doubt, down and out", so a drop curve is a perfect pitch, especially if you have a gold glove 2B!

Added Bonus: My DD can throw a drop curve 100%, 75% and 50%, so it can work as an off speed and change up when necessary.

 

[Dave619]

IMO the reason many do not like the drop curve is simple - their pitchers cannot command and/or their catchers suck.

That is a great point RB...good stuff!

Ken, that is a good thread...thanks!

I could be wrong on this, but I think my DD is effective especially with this pitch because it somewhat forces her to get good brush interference, etc. DD can throw a palm up curve, but she gets consistent movement with the drop curve. She is just not effective with curves and screws. JAD, how does your DD take the speed off? Just back the ball up in her hand more?

 

[slingnit]

Drop curve used to be my dd's best pitch and she threw it harder than her fastball. When she wanted to take speed off of it she would add one or two knuckles depending how much she wanted to take off. She never really threw a palm up curve til she was older and then it was offspeed only.

 

[Coach JV]

DD has great success with drop curve as she can then transition to inside rise to gain command of the zone