Questions such as,
“How old should you be before you throw it, when should you
throw it and how should you throw it,” becomes the focal topic
among parents, coaches and doctors.
The subject of curveballs in youth baseball at this time of the year around backstops throughout the nation.
Questions such as, “How old should you be before you throw it, when should you throw it and how should you throw it,” becomes the focal topic among parents, coaches and doctors.
However, the logical question, “Why should you throw it,” seems to evade everyone.
There is one reason, and one reason only, that young pitchers under the age of 12 throw curveballs. It gets hitters out, which could result in victories.
And since our society is based so much on winning and losing, curveballs are thrown more frequently because young hurlers figure that’s the only way they can get a hitter out and win the game if they don’t possess a good fastball.
Everyone forgets about the development of a young arm.
A couple of Major League notables sum it up best.
Pat Hentgen, the 1996 Cy Young Award winner says, “My advice for a young pitcher looking to achieve success is to throw a lot of fastballs at a young age to build arm strength and gain command.”
Pitching coach Galen Cisco, formerly of the Philadelphia Phillies, says, “Kids are anxious to throw curveballs, but with young players it’s dangerous to throw them. Studies have shown tendons, ligaments and muscles are not fully developed and there’s a likelihood you can cause injury with overuse.”
I couldn’t agree more. Arm strength is not built by throwing curveballs. The growth plates and bones of young pitchers are not fully developed. The ligaments are not firmly attached to the bones, which are softer in young pitchers than mature hurlers. Thus, there is a greater chance for injury or constant pain throughout the season.
And, most likely, throwing curveballs at an early age doesn’t help you learn how to pitch. It just gets hitters out because they can’t hit them as well as a fastball.
So if kids have aspirations of pitching in high school or beyond, they shouldn’t begin to throw curveballs until their arm is better developed.
That development usually occurs between the ages of 13-15 depending on the individual. For some, it could be later.
Learning sound mechanics and developing a good fastball complimented by a good change-up should be paramount in the learning process for a youth pitcher.
Combined with arm strength and throwing the ball to locations means success in the future at higher levels.
In the words of former Major League pitcher Bob Tewksbury, “Anyone can get batters out with breaking stuff all the way through high school. Work on getting them out with your fastball. It’s still the best way to do it more than 100 years after the game was invented.”
Amen to that.
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.
