How To Pitch Knuckleball - Slow Pitch Softball Pitching School
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Watch this lesson to learn how to throw the slow pitch softball Knuckleball. Slow motion analysis with step by step breakdown and instruction. The knuckleball is the natural companion to the backspin pitch, featured in the previous video of this series, "PITCHES". The series, "PITCHES" features a full explanation, analysis and application of the slow pitch; Slider, Screwball, Backspin and Knuckleball. Watch the entire series and get a leg up on your competition.
When I was in the Navy, I was pitching a game and we had a pretty good breeze coming directly across home plate toward the pitcher's mound. I threw a knuckleball and it was moving so much, the batter just dropped his bat. The looks on the faces of the batter, catcher, and ump were priceless. They were all like "What the hell was that?"
I am a pitcher prom Belgium and you have learned me a lot, thanks for that.
You've helped my pitching quite a bit since subscribing to tir videos. I'm adjusting to pitching USSSA so I'm getting it down. I look forward to trying this at a higher level next season. Thank you again from a lefty learning more on the mound.
Thanks, Alvin! glad to hear our videos are helpful.
I've been studying your videos for about a year now. And its definitely led me to be a better pitcher. Thanks! This is the first time me watching your knuckleball video, and I notice that outside of grip, we have the same approach in common, little spin as possible. In the league I play in right now, the knuckleball helps keep the ball in the ballpark when the homerun hitters come up. The same guys, who were taking my backspin pitches and putting them halfway up the trees are either barely getting enough to knock it out, or its a deep can of corn. ha As a slow pitch softball pitcher, for me is, if I can pitch a 7 inning game and leave 24 minutes left on the clock against a good hitting team, I pitched a damn good game. ha
Really fun pitch to throw when there is a good breeze.
Dad use to toss a knuckle ball when the wind was blowing out. The wind blowing out would make it dance a lot more than if there was no wind
I hate when the wind is blowing out hard, makes it so difficult to judge how hard or high to throw it
Thats my favorite time to throw the knuck
Thank you, I look forward to trying this. I’m a left handed pitcher, and I’ve tried to throw a forward knuckleball before with little success. I can throw a backhand knuckleball, the delivery is similar to the backspin pitch and confuses batters. Looking forward to learning the screwball and slider, thanks for the great videos!
Great stuff! Thanks for posting this series!!!
Thanks for the advice. Used the grip today and it worked way better than my older knuckle ball grip. It had way more movement. I was holding the ball from the horseshoe and it would knuckle but wouldn’t sway. Great advice!
Glad it's working for you!
The reason the knuckle is not your favorite pitch is the same reason no hitter wants to hit it.
Quality knuckle ball, best pitch in the game in my opinion.
Brother, love the video. I throw a 2 finger knuckler with the ball resting on the first section of my thumb. Also throw it from different arm angles (USSSA). I love throwing it extended off the right side of the pitching rubber.
I watched your video shortly after my first game as the starting pitcher in my rec league. When it was all said and done, we were champions, and my stats were ( including the 2 games in the playoffs ): 9-0, 56 IP, 17 Ks, 8 BBs, 5.57 ERA. I was the best pitcher in the league, and my knuckleball was a big part of it ( and my team's stellar defense ). Every game I had at least one or two players from the other team tell me my knuckleball was infuriating to try and hit. So thank you for putting up this video. I'm looking forward to defending my MVP and Championship in a few weeks.
I have found with my knuckle it tends to prevent them from making solid contact. I get a lot more hard swings for pop outs
i've found a groove as a slow pitch pitcher. maybe because of my time as a bowler, I've taken to the backspin pitch as my go-to. I can't wait to try this pitch in my league, thanks! Question: What kind of batter do you think this pitch would be most effective: home run hitters or line drivers? thanks
Ace as you know I have been pitching over 50 years .I feel similar to you about K-Ball .Dont know where it is going .Some of my hardest balls hit off me have been with this pitch .It is a show me pitch as you mentioned.Sometimes you don't want
ball hit to right side when you have big hitters with little defense on right side .I can control my massive RPM ball where I want to throw it .Also it produces more groundouts .
Been waiting for this vid as well. I pitch for two men's league teams and I primarily throw a knuckle, although thanks to these videos I've been working on a screwball to add. Just wanted to add my 2 cents here because my delivery is completely different.
I grip the ball with just 3 fingertips, using my thumb and pinky as guides on either side. I've also felt the less nails I have the better I throw it. Could be because I might tend to grip the ball harder when I have longer nails, whereas having no nails requires me to push it more instead of gripping the ball. Haven't quite figured this out yet.
For me it's all about putting speed on the ball - as with a baseball knuckle, which I also threw, the more air you have moving over the static seams the more wobble and movement you'll get. So I tend to keep my pitches low, as close as I can to the 6 foot range. My leagues play 6 to 10 and rarely ever do I get called for high balls, but I will miss low several times an inning. The fastest I can throw it over 6 feet is what I'm aiming for. I also routinely have balls land on the plate as I tend to miss short and I pitch much better against teams with no discipline because they spend all night reaching. The better teams that lay off those and sit back and wait and tougher for me for that reason.
But I will say I probably only throw strikes roughly 2/3 of the time maybe? On a good night the ball is moving randomly in all directions so I can't really aim for spots too well. Sometimes I'll aim inside and it'll slide another 6 inches inside, other times I'll aim outside and watch it walk itself another 6 inches off the plate. I also do give up the occasional HR because it doesn't move every time and when it doesn't its a sitting duck. But I do get a lot of weak contact where guys get jammed or hit the end of the bat because the ball moved a few inches after they committed to swinging.
Everyone who catches for me is always amazed at how much the ball can move in both directions and the little wobble it can have before diving. I also routinely get comments from the umpires afterwards, and I can hear guys on 1B tell their 1B coach "man he's got a good knuckleball".
I don't really focus on which seams I grab, so that may affect which way the ball is moving. I also step with my right foot, usually off to the right laterally, because I've found that leads to better ball speed and movement. I'll have to set up a video of it this winter from the hitters perspective to really get a glimpse of what it's doing.
Glad you're watching the videos and good luck with that screwball, it's a great pitch thrown inside on righties once you have the batter behind in the count. It looks like you have much success with your knuckleball, and I guess you're playing USSSA since your arc is 6-10 feet. My league is ASA/USA Softball, and we're at 6-12 feet.
I have a question for you. Do you have another pitch that you work off your knuckleball? I usually work my pitches in pairs. For example, I'll use my backspin pitch off the knuckleball, or I'll use my screwball right after a slider.
@@utah32804 I've only been pitching for about 3 seasons and I only started because our other pitcher quit playing. So I don't have a very big arsenal but the first pitch I started throwing was a knuckle so I have been working on it for several years now. But the knuckle is all I throw and while it has gotten better in the last year in terms of movement, I've never even bothered with a 2nd pitch until very recently once I saw your vids.
Our old pitcher had a very nice curveball he throws off the plate inside that bends back onto the corner, but I was never able to replicate what he does and had pretty much given up trying to throw anything but my knuckle. However with your vids I've actually gotten some movement on a screwball, the issue right now is accuracy as I feel like I hit the zone with it like once in every 5 tries.
We just hit the winter offseason as of last week so my goal is to try and work the screwball in full time for the spring. But like I said I do want to try to get a vid setup of my knuckle since it's so completely different than how you throw yours.
Thanks for the reply, and keep making good content - I watch all of it.
@@CMCFLYYY The advantage of a breaking pitch, slider or screwball, is that once you learn to command location, these pitches can be used to keep the ball on one side of the field or the other. This advantage leaves your defense with less territory to defend. On the other hand, the knuckleball may float to one side of the plate or the other, leaving your defense to cover from line to line.
I have pitched in senior leagues in NJ for many years and do throw a screwball but not the right way you have shown, I just put ball in palm up and as I come forward I twist wrist left to right and on lefty batter it comes right at them and breaks to outside of plate..I t has worked for me but I like your way better and will try it.
Thanks for this!
FWIW, the is what works for me:
I throw it short or *just* at the front of the plate. I find that inexperienced batters see it as a "cookie" and lunge for it. Getting them out on their front foot really helps with eliminating some of their power.
I also love to throw it inside to grab a strike. I'll work it high and low, but *always* in. It's a ball, but again, the batter sees a cookie and yanks it foul.
Lastly, often it's slower than a normal pitch, so it works as a sorta-change-up.
The downside, however, is that I'm in Southern California, so there is very little wind/breeze...so, not a lot of dancing, sadly.
hey michael...
@@WillyDial long time no see!
I like the conference game on in the background 👍🏻
I'm not a pitcher but I'm looking to start learning to pitch, this is very good stuff. You should consider setting up a pitching camp, I would definitely attend since I'm contemplating on converting to pitching.
Thanks Abdiel. I have no camps planned anytime soon but you never know. I am producing a complete tutorial series for release later this year. I’ll be offering a pre-release special price soon. Stay in touch and good luck!
@@utah32804 Thank you..looking forward to your tutorial.
I feature a leg-kick knuckle ball... Ball starts high and behind the mound and I use the momentum of my body to project the ball forward with late release. Most of the time I'll wipe sweat on one side of the ball, especially if no wind, and that thing dances like crazy. It's pretty effective if my team can catch the ball (church league, low talent) although once in a while someone will crush a moon shoot...
For me, I really look at the weather conditions before I go to the knuckleball. No wind - stay away. Wind in my face is when I'll really go to it more often.
Good point Shawn! I agree.
My dad would rarely toss it without wind
I always used 3 fingers but I have larger hands(I can palm the basketball off the dribble) I always felt if I put more pressure with my index finger and start the ball towards the batter and it will break late into the inside corner for a strike and the middle finger would cause it to move toward the hitter, these are on right handed Ayers.
great video man, i've been pitching a lot lately in my slo pitch leagues and would love to add this to my arsenal. My only issue is I have a bad habit of picking my nails and i dont feel they're long enough. :(
I am a big believer in a knuckleball, but my philosophy is different, I don't want to pitch higher, on a higher slope, I want to pitch a knuckle quicker on a low slope, the faster the ball moves, the more the air moves around the ball, the more movement your knuckle will have and the more effective it will be,
Learn to hit the 6-7 ceiling, keep it low, keep it little quick, knuckle will drop and mess with hitters.
Ive been waiting for this one!
Pitch me knuckle I'm smashing it.
I throw what I call a 'riser' a rising fastball, a screwball, a curve, a sinker, and this palmball. At 69 wondering if I'm over doing this at the senior league at 69.
i've seen a couple of guys throw a palmball with no rotation... there isn't any wind where we play so no one seems to get any real movement which is one reason i haven't worked on mine very hard... it seems, if a headwind helps, that you need to throw the ball a little harder to get more airflow over the ball to get movement... since i can pitch 6 feet behind the rubber... i wonder if that would help make a more effective knuckleball? reaching the plate is the problem... that's why i think i'll try to learn the palmball technique since it can be thrown harder... that and my fingers don't like bending for the knuckleball grip...
I've been pitching the KB for 25 yrs and the pitch is more of a pop in your arm with out following thru.. I get 80-90% movement on the Kb. Win is your best friend if it ain't blowing to hard... 13 strike outs in one game is my record.. granted it was against the coast guard...
most pitches i can throw but i have short fat fingers is their anything in my grip i can do to help make the knuckle ball stop from spinning.
I throw a 'palm ball' with little spin, do you consider this my version of a 'knukleball' (baseball) talk..Robert at 69 at senior league softball.
I like the fact that all of your pitches are palm down, I myself feel like I have a lot more control when I pitch palm down. However, I noticed that you throw your knuckleball with the palm up. Could you please walk me through why you choose to throw it with palm up, rather than palm down? Thanks.
I like to throw knuckle balls on windy days. The ball moves all over the place but not with 3 balls. I also throw it backhanded like the backspin pitch cuz I believe it hides it better. What do you think?
I pitch a traditional backspin right now. If there is one other pitch I should have as a secondary option for an upcoming weekend playoff, what do you recommend?
Good day! I'm a baseball pitcher here in the Philippines, does it affect my pitching style if l start practicing in slow pitch?
In my league I have to throw only like this knuckleball the wrist straight with the forearm so how can I throw the curve ball, slider and the back spin using this same movement palm up??
Thanks for all the videos. I have to practice with my glove on. For whatever reason, if I practice without it, it messes me up.
It's funny you should mention the glove, Michael. I usually practice without it except on game day when I throw my warmup pitches in the afternoon. I guess I've done this so long that it doesn't affect me one way or the other. It's probably not a bad idea to practice with your glove. It makes your workout as realistic as possible.
I am same have to practice with the glove to get a feel for gripping the ball in the glove
What pitch and location do you recommend for those right handed batters that hit to right field every single time? Thanks for these awesome videos you put up, they are really helping me out.
I am a pitcher but as a hitter I always like to go Oppo, right field as usually the weaker defensive player positioned there. What i hate is pitches that are too far outside but still look hitable. Sometimes they are too tempting and I end up swinging at them. As a pitcher I pitch them as much outside as I can to get batter tempted and swinging at those pitches. Also some Oppo hitters never can pull the ball, if that's the case keep pitching inside.
Jaime, that is a great question. I like to go inside and inside off the plate, but it's not that simple. Good hitters will usually take a pitch inside off the plate for a ball but to explain my answer more completely, I made a video just for your question. I'll be uploading it later today so check back to see a full explanation of this approach.
WeekNight Ace awesome. Thanks for the great content.
My league has a max pitch height of 8 feet for slowpitch with clinchers. I think my knuckle is decent and I can usually get ahead in the count without it (maybe show it once for a strike), BUT I don't get bad swings on it (it gets crushed even on 2 strike counts). A lot of the times the ball doesn't rotate but only moves a little bit if at all. Is this because my knuckle isn't good enough or is it that the 8 feet doesn't give it enough time/height to move more? Any tips on how I can make it move just a bit more to hopefully miss more barrels?
6-12ft arc in my league. Any adjustments for this pitch?
Hello, thanks a lot for the videos. By far the best to describe the detailed motion of the knuckleball. I tried to practice for a couple of weeks but really struggle to get the "no-spin" effect. I believe this comes from the release (wrist + fingers). Do you have specific tips? Also...do you have maybe specific drills to work on the knuckleball? Thank you! Yohann
Hi Yohann. Are you trying to throw it the full distance?
@@utah32804 i tried full, half and quarter of the distance actually...that's why i think there's something wrong with the release...
I personally prefer eliminating the step towards the batter and throwing the knuckler at 6' to 7' high with some speed. Eliminating the step gets you more of a consistent delivery.
Sure, Dennis. I use the step with my other pitches so I just step with the Knuckle ball also to keep my mechanics consistent. I also find the step helps reduce my arm speed just a bit.
Good info on your strike rate. Have you measured it though or is 9 out of ten an estimate? What about in your league? What are the averages?
Eric, I pitch 8 - 12 strikes in a row in practice. I don't think I've missed more than 2 backspin pitches (on purpose) for strikes in the last two games. As far as our league average, I'd say it's not that high. It's the one pitch I work on all the time, no matter what other pitches are in my workout. It's important that you have at least one pitch that's automatic. When you have an automatic strike pitch, you're able to pitch "from behind" when you need to.
What is your strategy to see how high the ump will let you throw the ball, I play with umps that aren’t consistent most of the time and they might call one to low when it’s like 6 to 8 feet at the same time might call them high when it’s like 8 to 9 feet
I feel your pain, Isaac. I pitched a game last night with an inconsistent umpire, he kept calling 8-foot high pitches flat. I just had to get them a little higher to get the call. I spoke with him after the game and thanked him for coming out and working our game, then I told him about my practice routine and the 6.5-foot high string I have stretched across my practice pitch. I let him know that I pitch about 500-700 practice pitches a week, and I can't even get my pitches to the plate without throwing at least a foot over that string.
If you don't call the ump out during the game and talk to them respectfully on the side afterward, I have found that almost all umpires are reasonable. One thing that I do Is let them know that I'm 6'1" tall and that if they see daylight between the top of my head and the ball at the top of the arc, it's probably legal. Most umps probably never think of using the pitcher's height as a reference point, and it does help sometimes to make a note of it.
WeekNight Ace thanks I appreciate the info. Love your videos by the way, learned a lot and my pitches have gonna better
We pitch at a 6 ft to 10 ft height, no mat and plate is not a strike.
Do you think these will work well in mat ball? We use a mat where if it hits the plate it's a strike
Michael, I don't see why it would not work in either case. The pitch is effective because of movement and the discomfort factor it has on some batters.
I play mat ball as well. Just the fact that someone is throwing the knuckle somehow seems to get in people's head and they swing at it. I am personally guilty of it as well. It's always those pitches that are pitched at the high arc that are touch as they so weird movements in air for longer. Aiming for front of the mat seems usually successful for other knuckleball pitchers I know (I don't pitch it in games yet)
I mainly throw a knuckle, but I have a very hard time throwing it high, my pitches stay around 6 feet and are very flat. What do I need to do technique wise to get a higher arc?
Eric, the way I adjust the arc on all my pitches, including the knuckleball is by changing the release point in the arc of my delivery. If I want a higher arc, I focus on releasing a bit later. Also, I visualize a target spot above the plate and throw to that spot. If I'm throwing too flat, I adjust my "target" spot higher. It's kind of like a golfer picking out a spot on the green, in line with the hole to putt to. This "release point" adjustment and visualized target method has worked very well for me. Good Luck!
@@utah32804 thanks!
i've been meaning to ask you... when you throw pitches with movement, where do you focus your eyes? i look where i want the ball to land as opposed to the direction i want to throw it... you talk about a "target spot"... is that what you always do? look at a spot above the plate?
Hi Willy, how's it going? You'll have to tell me how your workshop turned out sometime.
Where do I focus my eyes when pitching? Well, whether the pitch is a breaking pitch or straight, I focus on the target with my eyes, but I "see" the track or path of the ball in my mind. If I want a higher arc, I imagine the track of the ball going from release to a point higher above the ground, right down to my visual focal point.
When I throw a breaking pitch, I do the same except I "see" the break and the arc of the pitch.
@@utah32804... the clinic was a little disappointing... sunday at 4:PM probably isn't the best time for that... 6 people signed up... 3 people showed up but one was the guy i mentioned before who already has a backspin slider and screwball like yours... the other 2... one was a pitcher who wanted to learn it but he preferred the backspin technique so brian worked with him... and i worked with the other guy... a 1st baseman who came for a batting clinic that got canceled but he was with the other guy so he stayed and learned my slider... they both did pretty well and came away with good movement... who knows... maybe the 1st baseman will become a pitcher now... i've umpired their games before so we're familiar with each other...
it surprises me how little response i get for this... especially from pitchers who have played against me and have seen it... i get more interest from people who haven't seen me pitch...
Luke 4:24 ..."Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country". I guess it's true for pitchers too.
@@utah32804 ... don't worry... i've been disrespected online too... i had one site where the trolls were in force telling me i was lying... another site i have over 5000 views with only 4 comments in 4 years... i have no idea how many tried it there... i only know of one who replied saying he used it...
If possible can you do a video on how to setup camera to record and study own pitching, might be specially helpful while practicing the breaking pitches in this series.
I like your suggestion Rahoul. Let me give it some thought. I know there are many video recording options available to our audience so I'll need to be sure we take that into consideration. In the meantime, do you have specific questions about my recording process? I'll be glad to answer
I have a go pro which I was planning to connect in the fence and record from the opposite end while I pitch. For your recordings so you place the tripod or mounting device behind you. What kind of camera you use? Thanks always for helping the pitching community.
Rahoul, I use my iPhone on a tripod. The iPhone camera has a "slow-motion" setting that I use to get a close look at specific points of the pitch. I've recently started experimenting with an "invisible" helmet-mounted miniature camera that I can use during games. I'll be talking about that later. Thanks.
Head camera or body camera for game footage does sound exciting
Knuckleballs dont do shit in slowpitch 😆😆
Just like every other pitch
Usssa pitching is 6-10 or 12 ?
Conference games are usually jus homerun derbys
It moves more with wind blowing out. No wind it barely moves.
its slow pitch nots science throe\w the darn ball!!!!