25
Oct 10
What’s The Best Baseball Pitch And Why?
What do you think is the best baseball pitch? Curveball, Slider, Sinker, Cutter, Slurve, Change up, Split Finger Fastball, Located Fastball, Screwball, Gyro (please don’t say this :)), Eephus (really please don’t say this:)) ??
So, let’s have it. I would like to see some healhty debate as well.
All comments will be approved….so, be cool 
Strike 1
An over powering fastball
I dessagree a good change up will help you keep batter of ballance and then trhow that fastball.
I agree, there is no better pitch that getting ahead of the hitter, STRIKE 1, doesn’t matter what type of pitch it is
Your best pitch, for strike one.Not the pitch you think he wont hit, your best, whatever that might be that day.
right! Once a pitcher falls behind in the count the bigger the ball looks to the hitter. Even the best fastballs can look like beach balls on a 3-0 3-1 count.
There is no best pitch in baseball. They are all dependent on each other to be effective. It’s great to have a good fastball, but I’ve seen Chipper Jones go yard on Zumaya at 100mph. Greg Maddux did pretty well without a dominating fastball, and so did Trevor Hoffman. Nolan Ryan had one of the best sliders of his day to complement a great fastball. Cliff Lee is having great success right now because he knows how to mix his pitches. Buerhle threw a perfect game and almost another no-hitter with an average fastball. Besides, each batter should dictate what pitch is the best to get him out with. Everyone has their own weakness at the plate. And, sometimes that changes with the pitcher that he is facing. Read the batter and mix your pitches correctly and you will be successful.
Great comments,however Nolan Ryan never threw a slider, he threw a curve and next to Blyleven it was one of the best ever.
I agree the best pitch for any pitcher is strike 1 and pitchers best pitch is a fastball no matter what speed it is. It is used set-up all the other pitches
A strike that the hitter does not expect, and therefore catches him off balance. Keep him guessing!!
Located fastball..hands down
I believe a pitcher who has mastered the change up with 5 to 8 miles slower than his faster is a better pitch than a good curve. Just about everyone throws a curve so hitters see it all the time. Hitters do not see a good change up every game they play.
Clarify: Any first pitch that is thrown for a strike!
Answer #2: Change up hands down! its all about the timing!
bill- you are right about the change-up being a great pitch!
However, a pitcher must have at least a decent fastball to set up the change. (Also, the arm slot of the change-up MUST be the SAME as the fastball)
Otherwise, the hitter will be expecting the change-up and will be able to mash it.
1st pitch strike located down and away.
Maddux and Glavine lived on that pitch and last I looked they have a combined 650 + wins. I also have never heard of a batter saying “I love the outside and down pitch” Also if I am hitting I am looking for strike two and hope its better to handle than strike 1.
I agree 100% with the down and out 1st strike pitch.
It is an easy strike if you can hit your marks.
A good two seam fast ball. nothing like a fast ball that can saw off a bat in the hitters hands at the last moment. or run away from a batter at the last moments leaving him totally lost
A nice heavy change up. Keeps the batters of balance and makes your fastball that much more effective!
I would have to say a cutter/shuuto combo. If a pitcher has the guts to throw it in there and have the batter swing but the outcome is in favor of the pitcher 97/100, then that pitcher is pretty intimidating.
Best pitch is still the well placed fast ball.
Still gotta say a well placed fastball with two planes of movement ie. Sinker
The best pitch in baseball is a strike!
A men Billy………..you hit it on the head 5-8 with slower
with good downward plane.
Cutter!
Simply, because it’s moving away from bat power.
Obviously a good change up is hard to beat, but until a pitcher masters it, a slider is easy to learn and hard it hit if it’s down in the zone.
Ford- a slider may be easy to learn.
However, when thrown correctly, the slider is more damaging to the arm then even a curveball.
I’m going to over analyze the question and say the best pitch is your first pitch, strike one. Getting ahead and staying ahead puts you at such an adavantage if u look at the most recent no hitters you’ll be able to see how big of a deal first pitch strikes are.
the fastball, if you ask a pitcher what is their best pitch, they should always say their fastball. Being able to hit your spots at 90+ mph with deadly consistency and accuracy makes you a threat.
Cutter or sinker.
Because they’re really hard to hit hard. Very few pitchers can be “lights out” against good hitters, but a lot of good pitchers who throw these pitchers fair very well against good hitters despite pitching to contact.
OF COURSE THE BEST PITCH IS A WELL PLACED STRIKE..MY FAVORITE NEW PITCH TO TEACH KIDS IS A CHANGE-UP…EASY TO LEARN ,EASY ON ARMS AND IT MAKES EVEN A MEDIUM SPEED FAST BALL THAT MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE.!!
Knuckleball if you can throw it correctly.
Without a doubt – the Change-Up is awesome.
Our team is forty+, but guys can still crush the fastball. Our best pitchers can bring some heat (don’t laugh, 75 mph is heat in our league), but when you can mix in a 60 mph change that drops out of the zone too – you have a recipe for gross over-swings and ground-balls.
As one of our catchers, I hear the cursing that comes out of the best hitter’s mouths when they whiff at what looks like a tasty BP home-run pitch. Its hilarious!
The obvious answer is the pitch that gets the batter out.
Other then that, the change. When you get into a fastball count and take about 5 mph of it, Every hitter looks stupid. Look at Maddux. He throws a 90 mph fastball past the best hitters like its going over 100….
Even though I do believe that the first should be a strike. It all comes down to a well placed off speed pitch. And a change up has always been a classic and I love the classics.
the best pitch fir me is my sinker it’s fast and it has a breaking movement and if hit it results in a lot of ground balls last year we almost won state I threw 79 percent sinkers and the rest were well placed fastballs
the change up is the best pitch . second time through the order when everyone’s seen the velo of the fastball, start that lead off hitter off with a changeup down and out . he’ll be off the rest of the at bat
A better question is which pitches work better together. The best pitch depends on alot of things at the time.
I think the deadliest out pitch in baseball is the CATM Splitter. You can throw it even when you’re deep in the hole in the count.
If you can learn to get batters to swing at your first pitch, throw them a pitch that will get them to either pop up or hit a ground ball. One pitch, one out, that’s the best pitch.
P.S. Still pitching at age 67!
a fastball is important but when you establish a fastball your good but it can get hit around…thats why you need a change up to change speeds.
A well located fastball…Every other pitch works off the fastball.
The best pitch in baseball is a strike!
the best pitch in baseball is called strike 3!!!
mix it up…. read the hitter…. and make your pitch accordingly
Change up !!! Ability to change speeds is crucial on a good hittng team!!
I belive the change up its the best pitch. Now if we talking re the best pitch as establishing the count the best pitch is strike one.
Omer Kishanov and the pirate-
the fastball is the best pitch.
The fastball sets up the change-up.
The change-up can be an individual pitcher’s best pitch,
but he must have at least a decent fastball to set it up.
If a pitcher doesn’t have a good fastball and relies on his change-up most of the time, hitters will be able to guess more correctly what he is going to throw on a certain pitch.
The fastball always has been, and always will be,
the best pitch.
Well located Fastball!if the playoffs highlighted anything was that fastball location(no matter what mph) keeps the ball off the fat of the bat and is key the use of the any other pitch.Control of location being the key
A located fastball is the best pitch. Hands down
first pitch strike,really players can hit the fastball,so a good
change-up to keep them off balance
The best pitch in baseball is a first pitch strike this allows you as the pitcher to be able to throw junk or locate the outside corner and if its not a strike no problem. The first pitch strike also gets you a pitch up on the batter. First pitch strike is the best just because it gets some wieght off your shoulders also.
A well set up change
A cut fastball for these reasons: all pitches become most effective after you have established your fastball however the better hitters will adjust to even a straight 105mph fastball. The key is speed with controlled movement, ala the cutter. How else could Mariano Rivera be so effective all these years getting the 3 toughest outs in baseball with basically one pitch.
‘The next pitch’ that your pitcher has most confidence in to get across with intended purpose. Does not matter what previous pitch was (ball/strike/location/speed). ‘The next pitch’
We teach the pitchers in our club that the fastball is the best pitch in baseball. We work on control of both the 2 seam and 4 seam fastballs. All other pitches are not as effective without a great fastball. Locating your best fastball allows you to use the change-up (the second best pitch), and any breaking pitches you may have. But the fastball rules.
The best pitch in baseball is the fastball because you can make it rise, sink it and make it run to both sides of the plate……four seam & two seam. Besides being the best pitch it is also the most used pitch. Strike one is also a great pitch, but it could be one of a number of pitches e.g. curveball, changeup, cutter, slider & etc. You could also say the best pitch is the one that is working for you that day, but that is not the question. How many pitchers make it in professional baseball without a good fastball? NONE!
i think the best pitch in baseball is the one that you can locate, throw for not only strikes, but for balls away from the zone to keep the hitter chasing. so a located fastball
a strike
If the pitch looked good, felt good and got the result that you intended, then that is the best pitch.
There is no single best pitch. A pitch is only as good as it is executed and/or set up. The most important pitch to master is the located fastball. If we assume a pro level pitcher has done this, then I would say the best pitch is a change up. Hang a curve, and you get jacked. Spin a slider, and it gets jacked. But, even a poorly thrown change has a good chance of getting the batter out. A change also makes every other pitch in a pitcher’s arsenal better than it may actually be. Master the change, and your average fastball becomes superb. Your curve and slider also becomes less predictable, because now you can throw pitches that move in different directions. A change can run down and away to a lefty batter, then the curve or slider that runs in on him catches him off guard, and vice versa. If I were working with a 15-16 year old pitcher, I would have him absolutely master the change, then work everything else off of that. Most importantly, the change does more to offset a power hitter’s strength than any other pitch.
Strike 1
The best pitch in baseball is a fastball. Without a doubt it sets up every other pitch a pitcher has and if you look at the playoffs over the last twenty years the best pitchers arn’t the ones who throw a ton of strikes and have great movement its the guy who in the tough count, can throw a ball by anyone.
I have tried to instill in my young pitchers and catchers that your best pitch, may not be your best pitch tonight at this point and time in the game. Catcher, look in the batter eye’s before you call the pitch, know the batter’s tendencies and more importantly, his weakness. It is a thinking man’s game.
Pitcher, Trust your catcher!
Therfore, in my opinion, the best pitch in baseball is the one that gets an out.
But I do not know a whole lot about baseball.
CG
A well placed fast ball ( first pitch a strike in and down) then a well deliverd change up 5 to 8 mph slower
A good change-up is hard to beat. It keeps hitters off balance and you don’t have to have a strong arm to get batters out. It makes every other pitch in your arsenal that much better.
the one pitch out………period.
To follow up Kagan, it’s an unfair question. There’s no best pitch that stands alone (unless it’s Mo Rivera’s cutter). The key is keeping hitters off balance, either by changing speed or location, so the best pich is the one that makes that happen, which means it’s not the pitch at all but the sequence that matters. If there’s was only one best pitch, it would have to be the splitter, because it’s unpredictable, and you can change the speed on it as well.
A consistantly located live fastball.
Dave- you want to consistently locate all your pitches.
But make sure that your pitches are not consistently located (as in the same spot).
I agree that the fastball is the best pitch.
a well located fastball, period!
My change is my best pitch. It screwballs out and dives but is unfortunately not a heavy pitch. But the pitch that makes it all possible is my fastball. The fastball is the best pitch in baseball-no one can survive without it. You have to be able to locate your fastball or have tremendous cheddar behind it to succeed at pitching. You can bet by throwing nothing but fastballs, but you can’t live without it.
With the thinking that pitches set up pitches,a great CHANGE UP that makes a batter look SILLY will turn the other batters in the dugout into hesitant swingers
It is and always will be the fastball. Every other pitch comes from the fastball and you do not have a chance at pitching at a high level unless you have a fastball that has the ability to get guys out. Even with all of these other pitches getting popular there is still one pitch thrown over 60% of the time in MLB games and that is the fastball.
well how about in some of the no hitter and perfect games?
often times the pitchers are actually throwing sinkers more often than fastballs.
Sinker?- name five pitchers of no-hitters or perfect games who threw sinkers.
change up, people don’t practice change ups. What is pitched to you when your taking bp… fastballs. Hitters are geared to hit fastballs so when you through a pitch that looks like a fast ball but 8 to 12 mph slower you can’t make decent contact
The best pitch in baseball is a change-up with late movement and is a good difference in speed from your fastball to where batters think its a fastball but then they are fooled and swing early or cant adjust.You can throw it when even and ahead in the count on the black part of the plate for a strike..hopefully this was good enough to win a priza because Im 16 and need to improve my pitching ( velocity,offspeeds,etc)
The pitch that produces an out!!
The best pitch in baseball is any pitch thrown for a strike. even better if it is thrown for strikes consistently when intended.
I say it is better if it is thrown for strikes when intended of course because there are certain situations where you purposely want to throw outside of the strike zone.
I believe if a kid can only throw low 80’s if he has the pin point control of the pitches every time in any situation he will be very difficult to handle.
I would agree with a change piece or a well place fastball. I am going of off my experience from when i started playing baseball at 3 years old although through college so far. I am currently pursuing my career professionally. I have gone to about 8-10 pro tryouts… mostly for indy teams, but the pitchers I have faced have shown great command with their fastball and has made their change that more affective. Man, you see some ugly swings when the pitcher is able to place their fastball then drops a good change on ya.
Fastball, because everything is based off that. it doesn’t matter is you have 10-15 mph of difference of your change, hitters will look for it if your fastball isn’t dominate, isn’t a strike, ect.
For secondary pitches a splitter lookes just like a fastball, dives down and in, and breaks late. Knowing this it can be your best pitch you go to in trouble, a groundball pitch, a srikeout pitch, or a change-up, because after all, thats what it is.
2 seam fastball, it has the late down ward movement and gets you groundballs all the time
in a time when bitters are becoming crazy good and pitching is losing the once known dominance I think it’s fair to say that the sinker will ba and is the best pitch in baseball. That’s following the discussion rules though. Anything located and set up properly can be the best pitch… Even the eephus hahaha. But when hitters like Pijols Howard and arod are around it’s hard to say the fastball is the best pitch. People will argue that the change is the best pitch but not to many pitcherss are very successful with it. You can see a lot more pitchers going to the sinker and using it in different ways… Look at halladay just using it as an extra pitch then there’s guys like Brandon Webb that would not be where they are without it. You can argue fastball is the best pitch. But you can’t tell be that in this age of baseball that a average 90 mph fastball is gonna get it done… Now if you told me a 87 mph sinker I might say you got a chance. I think the sinker is the best pitch because it’s a great combination of velocity control and movement. It can get you ground balls and even when the best hitters know it’s coming they still get out. The sinker has given man pros today a chance to get there and theres a reason that the top 3 pitchers (Tim Lincecum, Roy halladay, and cliff lee) all throw under 95 mph… They all bring control movement and velocity to the table.
Brian Crafton- have you followed MLB this year?
The 2010 season was the “Year of the Pitcher”.
In the NL alone, there were at least five candidates for the CY Young.
Hitters may be good, but I think pitching is coming back.
As for hitters like Pujols, Howard, and A-Rod, “really good” hitters can hit all kinds of pitches, not just fastballs.
Did you see Wilson throw that slider to Howard in the NLCS?
The fastball. No matter how hard you throw, if you can spot it with movement and change speeds. Greg Maddox may have been the best pitcher in the modern era using a mid-eighties fastball. Anyone at any level can have success without good velocity if they have control and movement. It took me many years to learn to sacrifice the four-seamer and the extra mph for the two-seamer with movement. The difference between a pitcher and a thrower.
The change up. If you master it like I have it is NASTY when thrown right thrownat the right count.
A Mariano Rivera Cutter like pitch. Or a Tim Lincecum change up/split. It is too dirty! Just watch the world series, you’ll see batters wave at it and always miss.
any pitcher that can throw a consistent change AND and a consistent 2 seamer he can place will do well. Always think a pitch ahead……
No doubt the Fastball. Everything else is setup by a good fastball – curve, change, slider. After all it is not called the “85mph Change up Club” for a reason!
Johan Santana’s change-up before he got hurt. It was so effective because he used the same grip for both and had same release point, arm speed, etc.
the best pitch is the pitch you can throw consistently for strikes. It can change from day to day,
The best pitch in baseball is strike 1. It doesn’t matter what the pitch is, it can a fastball,slider,curve,change, any pitch you can think of. It doesn’t have to be well placed a strike is a strike if the pitcher is working ahead of the hitter it’s his best pitch.
Tough question, Paul. Even if you have a 102 mph fast ball (i.e. The “Cuban Missile” meltdown in the playoffs for the Reds) you can still get into trouble if you don’t change speed. I’d vote for the CHANGE UP. Look at Glavine and Maddux. Mid eighties fast ball probably looked like 95 because of their devastating, respective, change ups.
The change up is the best pitch, backing it up with a fastball down & away and a knuckle…..that is what makes for quick innings
Besides the first strike, nothing beats a 2-seamer that has the perfect movement to go in and jam the right handers, and that can start in to the lefties and cut right to the edge for a strike.
located fastball strike one,everything works off that,work ahead and make one pitch at a time your coach will have more fun that way.
I teach my pitchers to throw a “change-down” because I DON’T want them leaving the change “UP.”
The best “pitch” is the fastball.
The four-seam fastball should be your #1 pitch.
With it, you can set up batters for off-speed and breaking pitches. When a hitter knows you have a plus fastball, AND good breaking balls and off-speed pitches- you (the pitcher) has a tremendous advantage against the hitter.
The hitter is less likely to correctly guess what pitch you will be throwing and will be thrown off-balance more easily, resulting in more outs.
Located fastball, can be moved around in and out of the strike zone with most control, sets up off speed stuff, and it saves the pitchers arm.
The change up is the best pitch by far. See fast balls then thesame arm angle and grip right up to the point that it isnt where its supposed to be, it’s like a great illusionist. Loved growing up watching Greg Maddux do that exact thing.
Srike three, but seriously a good change up going down and away to RH batters routinely gets them off balance and sets up a nice hard fastball insude.
A well placed fastball with movement either in or out is always the best pitch. Seeing my 9 year old throw them with movement is astonishing to me and definitely to the batters that have never seen anything like it.
1st pitch strike down and out
i think the cutter because its a good pitch that can fool the batter especialy when it has a late brake
The best pitch is whatever the batter is not looking for either in or near the strike zone depending on the count.
A good changeup. Hitting is timing.
STRIKE ONE..my son has been on the hill since he was 6 yrs old…16 now …future cy young winner..go rangers and cliff lee…he actually has the same head tilt as tim l.
Of course the correct answer is – ‘it depends’ – but generally speaking the ‘best’ pitch in baseball continues to be a (well placed) fastball.
LOVE a good change up… but the meat and potatos of pitching will always be a well placed fast ball.
The fastball is the key to pitching – even if it is NOT “fast.” It has to be the base of your pitching foundation, off of which comes the change and/or breaking pitches. So you MUST have a fastball that does something – moves, drops etc. And you MUST be able to locate it on the edges of the strike zone – especially low and outside.
First Pitch Strike! Always better to get ahead in the count,. Usually a nicley located fast ball will get the job done…low and away!
The best pitch overall at all levels of baseball is the change up. The reason is that it can be effective for a Little League pitcher all the way up to the majors. The other reason is that it can be developed by any pitcher with some practice with it. Watch the playoffs this year and see some of the best pitchers in baseball use the change up effectively.
All good comments. The question can be interpreted a few ways, yes? The question of what pitch can be the most effective versus what is the best pitch. The most effective, in my opinion is the change up. I’ve watched great fastballers learn the change up and become award winners. The best pitch is whatever you can throw for a first strike.
The best pitch in baseball is the one you can confidently throw for strikes regardless of the count.
Is that you coach Steve? It’s Gabe. McCarthy.
I coach High school baseball. When we hold clinics we tell the kids that the pitchs to work on are the fastball (4 seam) and the changeup (palmball).
Most kids up to age 16 should not be throwing a curve. Coaching is poor so the technique is poor. It is harder to unteach poor curveball mechanics than to teach the proper technique.
Greg Maddux’s changeup.
The two-seam fastball that moves back across the inside third of the plate when thrown a foot inside to a hitter (for left-handed hitters, it’s thrown by a righty; for right-handed sticks, it comes from a lefty). When this pitch is thrown and has enough movement on it, you almost NEVER see it get hit with any force. Maddux got into the Hall of Fame on this very pitch.
Without question the Fastball. It is what every player is judged on, both the hitter and the pitcher, to make it to each level along the ladder all the way up to the big leagues.
It’s a shame this isn’t reinforced more to our young pitchers growing up, everyone tries to teach kids to trick hitters. Good located fastball is still the hardest pitch to hit!
as a coach and dad, I believe it would be one of two pitches. One would be a change up with good movement down and away. The other would be great moving sinker(halladay makes it easy doesn’t he). I perfer a curveball that will buckle a hitters knees, but as stated earlier hitters could adjust to them
The best pitch in baseball is always going to be a well placed fast ball.. I’m a junior pitching on varsity in south florida in one of the toughest districts in the country, I’m our teams #1 and I only throw around 78-79 and if I place that with some movement I’m not gnna get touched I pitched on Friday in our tournament and I threw a 1 hitter , I threw 4 curves and like ten changes and 1 slider. And I went 7 with about 65 pitches .. all because they look for fastball and u pitch to contact
the best pitch in baseball is the one that everyone learns first and should be the one that everyone can throw for a strike most of the time, ” FASTBALL”
The Located Fastball. Not even a debate here, a good fastball can get you far but a good located fastball will get you to the top.
Watching Greg Maddux pitch here in Atlanta, I would have to say the sinker. My son and the other top pitcher on my 12U travel team don’t have blazing fastballs but have exceptional movement on their two seamers. They get alot of groundballs and pop-ups with the occasional strikeout.
The best pitch in baseball is the one that a pitcher and catcher agree upon, the cather sets up properly, the pitcher throws the pitch, the catcher receives it as planned, the umpire sees what you want him to see and the batter reacts the way you want him to. Does not have to be a strike, a ball or anything. Its what you want to dictate to the hitter and ump and the players on the bench. Pitching is pitching and not just throwing a certain pitch. Have a great baseball day.
a good cut-fastball by far is the hardest pitch to hit in baseball(besides like maybe a knuckleball but idk ive never had one thrown to me batting)
there maybe no one clear answer as to what the best pitch in baseball… hands down the best combination is fastball change up…if you breakdown that combination however, the better pitch is the change up.. 1 differencial in speed.. any hitter can hit a fastball even arodis chapman 105 mph fastball can be hit its change the hitters timing with the same arm speed that gets ground balls pop ups and strike outs…2 movement.. a traditional downward or tailing movement.. anytime the ball is moving away from a batter the more likely the ball will stay off the sweet spot… downward movement will also keep the ball from going out of the yard… some of the best pitchers in the leauge have made there way with there change up such as..tim lincicum johan santana chris carpenter pedro martinez, roy halladay, just to name a few. althought the 95 plus fastball is great to have in the arsenal.. it is nothing without the differencial…jamie moyer throws 83 mph fastballs and gets away with it how? a change up at 75 is the difference instead of swinging at that bp fastball to drive it over the fence there hitting a 2 hopper to short. The most important thing of any pitch is location without a doubt but as far as picking one pitch the change up is #1!
The best pitch depends on the pitcher really. (in my opinion anyways). If a guy can throw high nineties, then let him stick to his fastball and even a slider. The fastball can be hard to catch up to if the hitter isn’t on his heels and the slider can be his hard breaking pitch. He could also throw in a change up to trip the batter up too. Maybe even a splitter if he can throw it exceptionally well.
If another guy throws pretty average speed, let’s say high eighties/low nineties, then his fastball isn’t really anything special since all the batters can catch up to it (unless it has spectacular movement and the pitcher can hit those corners well). Guys like this should try and master their breaking pitches. Sure, anyone can throw a curveball, but if you can make that thing drop right off the table without the hitter expecting that much break then you have a nice KO pitch. Another great pitch to have would be the splitter/split-change. This pitch has been said to be the best pitch in baseball because of how it fools the batter. It comes in looking like a fastball then drops. Hit the bottom corners with that pitch and you got yourself another KO pitch.
The last pitch worth mentioning in my opinion would be the knuckle ball. Not as easy for everyone one to learn unlike the curveball or change-up, but if “mastered” and thrown like Wakefield’s back in the day and you’ll be getting batters all game.
the best pitch in baseball is a first pitch strike
the best pitch in baseball is a fastball
an aroldis chapman fastball
The best pitch is not a fastball, curve ball, change up, slider, etc.
The best pitch is baseball is the one that makes the batters eyes grow big, his sphincter grow small, his coach, cuss, your coach get excited, and your ballclub owner put more money in your pocket…it’s all about the benjamin…case closed…
Sweet! I wish I thought of that. Makes my comment look novice.
What a great comment Steve Manning!
That made my day!
By the way, do you throw that pitch?
I wouldn’t say their is a definite best pitch because every pitcher has a different style, location… For example Mariano Rivera’s best pitch is probably his cutter, but for most people their best pitch is a curveball. For me my most consistently thrown best pitch is a splitter, though when my circle change up is working right it is filthy. Although I would like to add in just a little side note, I think that in baseball America today the gyro ball would be the most affective pitch, but not the best; it is a great pitch and since so few batters view the pitch on a regular basis it would strike out more people than any other pitch. It would be like if their was no curveball in baseball and all of a sudden one guy invented, and started throwing curveballs, it would strike out batters left and right. I know this very well because I used to throw a gyroball and I used it against the best team in my league at the time, and made everybody look silly swinging at that pitch. If it didn’t have such a bad affect on my arm I would use it to this day because it is a real, and also really amazing pitch, a lot of you gyro ball critics out there would be pretty suprised if you saw a correctly thrown gyroball in person, it’s just that dirty.
all pitches come off of the fastball, however strike one is the most important pitch
circle change down and away after u have thrown a fastball in on a hitter is the absolute best pitch that you could throw against any good hitter
the fastball is the best pitch because everything works of of your fastball
Toss up between the curve and the circle change. When both pitches are thrown correctly, with proper mechanics and wrist and forearm angle; they are near impossible to hit . Yes big league hitters can hit an “average” curveball, however; a nasty curve even the greatest of hitters struggle with.
The best hitters just try not to miss the opportunities to hit a good fastball. lol
Outside of strike one… An outside change-up is the best pitch in baseball. One of the toughest things for a hitter to do is master hitting the ball to the oppsite side of the field. Hitting “oppo” means waiting longer for the ball to get deep in the zone for you to drive the ball to that side of the field.. Now make that pitch a change-up and watch hitters dive across the plate and wiff at a ball that looks like a fastball and falls off the table at the last second…
Well lets put it this way, in the 18 years that I have been around high school and youth baseball, I have NEVER once had a college recruiter contact me to inquire about the kid that throws an 80-85 MPH slider, change-up, or curve. You can usually teach a kid those pitches, but you can’t teach velocity. You can train for velocity, but you cannot just “show” someone how to throw a 90+ fastball.
the best pitch in baseball in a strike. you can have all the best pitches but if you can’t throw a strike what good are they.. so a strike
I think a knuckleball is the best pitch in baseball because it can trick the batter really easily and will (sometimes) strike the batter.
if you throw the slider with great movement it is the best pitch out there.
Fastball change-up combo is the best in the game if the change is thrown with the same arm speed as the fastball. That is key. Way too many times i have seen kids slow everything down or try to make the ball move. The grip(which should be loose) makes the ball move. I have my kids throw 10 CUs at 90′ after long tossing. This makes them use the same arm speed because of the distance. If that doesnt work… Use a thick insulated hunting glove and have them throw the circle change with that on about 10-15 times and then take it off. Works wonders. Remember.. if the change hits the dirt when pitched… the grip is too tight.
I say a fastball is the best pitch in baseball. If you can command your fastball, no matter what the velocity, it helps set up your other pitches. If you can’t throw a fastball well, how are you going to throw anything else?
At what age are we talking? When I remember throwing a ball I wanted to throw it right at my target. One way to throw to my target was to throw it as hard and straight as I could. That throw became my fastball. If I threw it hard enough no one could catch up to it. Later on, of course, I couldn’t throw it fast enough for the better hitters, I had to do something else. Best “PITCH” in baseball is the change up. Yes you had to throw a first strike, but you have to pitch to throw a change up.
A located fastball. If you can put a fastball WHEREVER you want… man, you’re gonna dominate. And of course you have to pick good spots to put it in. Exploit the batter’s weaknesses
I think a good, located, hard sinker… just thinking… i do have my reasons as well.
Fastball and two other pitches that work. So, I guess “fastball” with a qualifier
I do like the one you get the out with – especially at the major league level. For all us amateur players who don’t have detailed stats on the batters, being able to locate a FB and change-up can be enough!
The best pitch in baseball is the straight change. If you have good command then you can throw it any pitch in the count. Most hitters look first pitch fastball, so throw them something that looks like a fastball and you get an easy ground ball. An average fastball is all you need in order to have an effective change up. The key is that they are 5-10 mph different. It’s amazing that more major league pitchers do not develop a change up. Nolan Ryan threw one later in his career. Greg Maddux threw in the lower 80’s towards the end of his career and he was still effective because he could change speeds.
Strike 1! That’s the answer!
The Why? Because you’re ahead, you’re in control and the percentages are in your favor…not only for that at bat but for the entire inning.
The quick answer to “best pitch” is strike one BUT that’s probably not the answer. Any pitch, a curve, change-up, slider/cutter, sinker, ect. is the best pitch when thrown correctly. The most important pitch is to establish your fastball for speed and location so all those other pitches will work off each other. One pitch should set up the next pitch. If I throw a high or mid height inside fastball my next effective pitch will be a curve inside or off the plate. After 2 fastballs an off speed pitch (change-up, or slower curve, located correctly) would be very effective.
90% mental and 50% physical (LOL) pitching is. Been doing it for 15 years and now I’m almost 58 years old and play in a 21 year and older MSBL league and we won the championship this year. My ball stll can top out at 80 mph but the rest of my pitches are very effective.
Hey baseball guys, this kinda off topic but.. This is the only baseball blog where some guys actually knew what they were talking about
Every change up grip i try doesnt work for me, none of them dont really feel comfortable. So i’m trying a splitter. when i was having a catch before the game, it had nice, down and away movement ( to a lefty, down and in to a righty). Then when i was pitching and it just went straight with a little dip to it. Advice?
You probably had slightly changed your grip or arm angle.
The best way to learn your splitter will be to practice, practice, practice.
absolutely a well located fastball. without fastball command, the rest of your pithces just aren’t quite as effective. as a hitter, it’s toughest to hit a pitcher when you know he can put his fastball wherever he wants to.
I say the knuckleball is the best pitch. For one thing, it’s slower than the average pitch, so it throws the batter’s timing off. Also, the wind can affect it. If the wind is with the ball, it goes faster. Side winds can make it like a slow cutter or screwball.
The euphus is the best pitch.
It’s so slow and has so much break.
It’s basically impossible to hit it.
More pitchers should learn to throw the euphus.
The gyro-ball is the best pitch.
My neighbor throws a version of it and his gyro-ball is
almost impossible to hit.
The knuckleball is the best pitch in baseball.
The only problem is that it takes years to master it effectively.
When thrown correctly, it has really, really, great movement.
At the slower speed, hitters have a hard time hitting a moving knuckleball.
If the knuckleball is thrown “flat” however, it will be hit just like in batting practice.
Tim Wakefield is a great example of a knuckle-baller.
Throwing a knuckle does not stress your arm much and pitchers who throw it, often pitch for years and years and years.
Truthfully, there is no one “best pitch” in baseball.
All pitchers have their own best pitch.