Before getting into the nitty-gritties of how to throw a change up in baseball, let’s discuss what exactly is a change up. A change up is a slow ball that is thrown in such a way that the batter interprets it as a fast ball and reacts accordingly. The change up is quite efficient and it will aid a pitcher’s career if he masters it early on. As compared to a curve ball, a change up is easier in its basic action. Fundamentally, it is covering more of the ball surface and stuffing it back into your hand before pitching. The detailed instructions on how to throw a change up pitch are given below.
How to Throw a Change Up in Baseball
Step-1 The important thing here is to make your pitch seem like a normal fast paced one. Hold the ball with three fingers – the middle, index and ring. The fourth should be in folded position and the thumb beneath. Spread out the three fingers holding the ball. Remember that the ball should be pushed into the palm.
Step-2 In this position, do not let your wrist loose. The movement of the wrist and its stiffness can be the deciding factors in the success of your change up. Applying the same pressure on the ball with all the five fingers is also crucial.
Step-3 Technically, this is not a step but it is just as important. Before going into a windup make sure that you are concealing your grip into your baseball gloves.
Step-4 Now go into a windup putting your body weight on your back foot toward the home plate. It is in this position that you gather up your potential energy that finally goes into the pitch.
Step-5 Bring down your arm as if you are pulling a rope down. The thing to be noted here is that your fingers should not give a push to the ball. It should be your palm that releases the ball.
Step-6 The follow through finalizes the effectiveness of your pitch. Ideally, both your feet should end up parallel to each other and your throwing arm should be ahead of your body.
In the above procedure if you connect your thumb and index finger in a circle, beside the ball, keeping the rest of the procedure same, its called a circle change up in baseball terms.
