Lesson 2

Types of Breaking Balls

Breaking balls are the broader categorization for pitches like curveballs and sliders. Breaking balls are essential to a pitcher’s repertoire, because they will move the most out of any pitch, and will create the most swings and misses. 

The two subcategories of breaking balls, as mentioned before are sliders and curveballs, but there are many other pitches that exist within those classifications. This article will cover exactly what those are, and how each pitch differs from each other. 

Sliders

Sliders are generally considered to be the best pitch in Major League Baseball right now. Part of the reason is because, with the increase of fastball velocity in the MLB, an increase in slider velocity has gone with it; furthermore, there has been little to no sacrifice in movement on the average slider, which is why it has been so effective. 

There are three common types of sliders in baseball right now, the traditional slider, gyro-slider, and the sweeper, which has taken the baseball world by storm in the past couple of years. 

A traditional slider is going to be the most identifiable pitch out of the three of these. It is categorized by a movement pattern that has a little bit of downward vertical break, with a larger amount of horizontal break. The traditional slider is most commonly thrown in the lower ranks of baseball around college and high-school level. This is because, out of the three types of sliders, it is the easiest to throw for most pitchers. 

The second type of slider is the gyro-slider. This pitch used to be called a “gyro-ball” around baseball in the 20th century and disappeared around the turn of the century, but with the introduction of analytics, it has made a resurgence. The gyro-slider is characterized by very little horizontal movement, with a larger amount of downward vertical break. It also features “bullet spin,” which is when the ball spins perfectly from side to side. The gyro-slider is most commonly thrown by pronators, who struggle to create the more traditional slider spin. 

The last kind of slider is the sweeper. There are two kinds of sweepers that are seen in baseball right now. It is important to note that even though these pitches are thrown differently, they are characterized by the same movement pattern: a high amount of horizontal break, and little to no downward vertical break. The first kind of sweeper is thrown by supinators, who are naturally able to create large amounts of horizontal break without sacrificing a lot of velocity. The second type of sweeper is thrown by pronators, or pitchers who struggle to get on the side of the ball, and this pitch utilizes seam-shifted wake. Both are effective in the same way, but it’s important to know the way in which these pitches are thrown. 

Curveballs

There are two common types of curveballs in baseball right now, traditional curveballs, and 12-6 curveballs. Both of these pitches will most likely feature the slowest velocity out of any of the pitcher’s offerings, but it will also feature the most movement. 

A traditional curveball can be thrown from a wide range of velocity, but almost always features the same movement pattern: A very high amount of downward vertical break, and a high amount of horizontal break as well. These curveballs can be thrown anywhere from 20 to 10 miles an hour of difference off of a pitcher’s fastball. The velocity of the pitch largely determines the usage of it. If it is closer to 20 miles an hour off of the fastball, the pitch will most likely be used in situations where the pitcher is not looking for a swing and miss; however, it will be used to land in the strike zone, or garner weak contact. If the pitch is harder, it may be used as a swing and miss pitch. It can be used in the strike zone, but would most likely be used below the strike zone to gain more deception. 

A 12-6 curveball will be used in almost the same exact way as the traditional curveball, depending on velocity, but the movement pattern is different. The pitch got its name from the true vertical break that it features. Picturing a clock, the pitch will start at the 12, and end at the 6, without any horizontal break. This pitch can be especially useful to pitchers who feature a fastball that gives the illusion of rising.