And then there's Rachel Garcia who throws bulletspin but throws it hard.
And then there's Rachel Garcia who throws bulletspin but throws it hard.
This was a video from “sluggers” Facebook page demonstrating one pitcher he’s working with.
And then there's Rachel Garcia who throws bulletspin but throws it hard.
When I teach the riseball now I start from scratch. I have the pitcher stand sideways and throw backspin from about 10 ft. We don't move from that unless she can get the ball to spin backwards. This is where she needs to find a grip that works. Once she can get backspin we move on to slingshotting the ball faster then go full circle. I don't think it's possible to teach the rise in the same way that you might teach a drop or a curve (use a normal motion, change grip and wrist/finger action). Learning the rise requires radical changes to the normal pitching motion. Once a pitcher can reliably produce backspin then she can start adding speed and go to the full circle. You have to be prepared for a significant drop in velocity at the start. When the fingers slide under the ball to give it the proper spin they are not adding energy-velocity. There seems to be a compromise in terms of spin vs velocity: pure backspin will be slower, some bulletspin will allow more velocity. This is why it's very rare to see a pitcher throw pure backspin with high velocity, typically the rise will be several mph slower. What usually passes for a riseball is bulletspin up in the zone.
commentator says “traditional rise ball grip”. Is that a 4 seam grip?