JJsqueeze
Dad, Husband....legend
I could be wrong but I would bet that Keilani's crop wasn't a flaw in her drop ball but instead was an intentional pitch that she perfected because it was very effective as it moves down and in to right handed batters.
As someone mentioned, the lowering of the strike zone from under the arm pits to the sternum a few years ago has taken some of the luster off of the effectiveness of the riseball and the umpires seem to be giving the corners more as strikes. Having some pitches that move left/right may not be such a bad thing.
In the meantime, I will have my DD work on all of her pitches to see which ones become her "go to" pitches. If she achieves 10% of what Ricketts has, I think this pitching thing will have been a success.
One thing to think about is whether her Crop really hade horizontal movement or was just thrown to the corner. I remember watching her and having my doubts. I saw the drop, never quite saw the CUrve part. just because Michelle Smith says it on TV and the pitcher calls it a crop doesn't mean it is exactly what we are discussing.
If only a member here had a DD that was a teammate and had inside info and could open the kimono a little on this .