- Aug 21, 2008
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Riseballs win you games. Dropballs win you championships.
So what's the best collegiate pitch? A drop?
I don't think it's a single pitch. It's being able to locate a couple pitches, mixing speeds. You have to keep hitters off balance.
I agree with this. I’ve never coached on the collegiate level. Just high school and travel. On those levels even a curve ball that stays flat will win games due to hitters not adjusting. So it makes sense that the higher you go the drop could be better.Riseballs are great in TB and HS. A kid with a decent rise will be all state.
Rises aren't nearly as effective in college.
At the collegiate level, modern bats allow batters to hit the ball out of the park without barreling up the bat.
For female fastpitch, riseballs are very easy to hit if the batter can pick the pitcher. The flight path of the ball is flat at the plate, so if a better keeps a level swing plane, they can really smack the ball..
Few pitchers throw a good rise. Mostly, it is a bullet spin pitch.
I think it's a single pitch (like last night, Webb = slider, Rogers = submarine, Doval = high heat) and then being able to throw other things for strikes, offspeed or not. Mediocrity with several pitches won't work.