Changeups

Changeups and More

Changeups aren’t fastballs, and they aren’t breaking balls. Almost every pitcher throws a changeup, but most of them move differently. There are also other variations of the changeup that are labeled otherwise. These are the splitter, screwball, and fork-ball. 

So what exactly is a changeup?

To put it simply, changeups are an offspeed pitch, which most similarly mirrors the movement of a fastball, at a lower velocity. Changeups shouldn’t stay as straight as a fastball, however, they should have a higher amount of horizontal and/or downward vertical break. Changeups can and should be used in any count to throw a hitter’s timing off. At any moment, the use of a well-placed changeup can open up the use of every other pitch in a pitcher’s arsenal; however, because the movement pattern is similar to the fastball, a not-so-well placed changeup could land in the outfield bleachers. 

It’s important to note that most changeups are named by the grip used to throw them, and not the movement pattern of the pitch. For example, a variation of the slider is called a sweeper, which got its name from the sweeping action of the pitch. This differs from the names of changeups. The most commonly thrown changeup is called the circle change, because of the circle that a pitcher’s index finger creates on the side of the ball. 

Why is this?

Because the main goal of the pitch is to achieve slower velocity and comfortability, many pitchers resort to getting creative with their changeup grips. They will play with the position of their fingers on the ball, which in turn, can create an entirely new pitch all-together. Some of the variations of the changeup are the circle change, c-change, and vulcan change. 

The screwball is an extreme variation of a changeup. The pitches are used in similar ways, but a screwball features a much more intense movement, without sacrificing much velocity from the pitcher’s fastball. Devin Williams’ ‘air-bender’ can be most accurately described as a screwball, because of its high amount of horizontal and vertical break. 

Splitters and Fork-Balls

Splitters and for-balls are very similar pitches. Splitters get their name from the split grip that’s used to throw the pitch. A fork-ball uses a similar grip to the splitter, and features a similar movement pattern. Oftentimes, pitchers position their fingers as far apart as they possibly can, in order to reduce spin on the ball. Different from changeups, the main goal of splitters and fork-balls is to achieve the lowest amount of spin possible. If that goal is achieved by the pitcher, the pitch will have a much slower velocity and higher amount of downward vertical break than a traditional changeup. These two are also used differently from a changeup. Splitters and fork balls excel at getting swings and misses better than the changeup, due to the high amount of movement that they both feature.