Learning to throw a fastball to locations with solid mechanics
and good arm action is essential in the growth and development of a
youth pitcher. Mastering a change-up is the next step in becoming a
complete pitcher.
Learning to throw a fastball to locations with solid mechanics and good arm action is essential in the growth and development of a youth pitcher. Mastering a change-up is the next step in becoming a complete pitcher. An offspeed pitch becomes the great equalizer in any sequence of pitches to the hitter.
As the bar gets raised in professional baseball regarding the fastball, you’re seeing more young pitchers throwing the changeup. This was quite evident in the playoffs and Worls Series last season. I noticed more changeups were thrown than in recent years.
Possessing a good changeup allows the pitcher to upset the hitters timing and keep him off balance. It also sets up the fastball while keeping the hitter and his entire team thinking about the offspeed pitch. Thrown with good arm action it becomes a tough pitch to hit. And, it puts no stress on the arm.
For youth pitchers there are essentially two grips you can use to throw the changeup. A lot of variations develop from each of these, but beginning with the two basic ways to hold the ball is a good start. You throw each of them like a fastball, trusting the grip and letting the grip work for you.
The first, and the one I prefer, is the three fingered changeup. It’s thrown with your thumb and pinkie finger on the side or under the ball and your middle three fingers on top of the ball across the wide seams. The ball is held back in the palm of your hand and you keep the tips of the three top fingers off the ball, with pressure being applied with these same three fingers. Your wrist should be stiff as you throw the ball and remain that way as you release the ball, with the back of your hand and forearm somewhat forming an “L” shape.
It will feel quite strange from the inception of throwing it, but you’ll find it’s very easy in the long run of taking speed off your fastball.
The second grip to use is the circle change. You take your thumb and index finger and form a circle on the side of the ball along, and inside, the narrow seams. You’ll grip the ball with you middle, ring and pinkie finger. You’ll naturally deliver the pitch with your palm out, thus providing a fading pitch with less velocity.
Over the years I’ve observed and found kids have trouble throwing the circle change because their hands aren’t that big and the three fingers you throw the pitch with (middle, ring and pinkie) are the three weakest fingers on a child’s hand. In turn they can’t control it and give up on it.
Lefthanders seem to control the circle change better, while right handers are more effective with the three finger change. I don’t have an answer for this, although it deals a lot with the pronation and supnation of the hand in delivering the ball.
The speed of the change should be anywhere from 10-15 mph slower than the fastball.It’s all relative to your level of play and the velocity you throw. For example, Oakland A’ S pitcher Barry Zito throws an 88 mph fastball and a 73 mph changeup.
How do you know if your changeup is effective? I’ll let Cy Young award winner Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves answer that one. “If you need an opinion on whether the pitch is effective or not, the hitters will let you know!”
Rich Taylor is the owner, head instructor and CEO of Taylor Made Baseball. He is a former pitching coach at Pepperdine University and Chicago White Sox scout. He founded the West Coast Baseball School and has 26 years of youth coaching experience. His column appears on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
