dumb pitch question

[Discrim]

the other day i was lurkin at a knuckleball board. there was a thread that caught my eye, one guy had apparently come to the conclusion that the screwball, generally described as a reverse curveball, is actually a glorified fastball. i read along and strangely, most of the arguments for and against it make sense to me. although i can sometimes see a pitch break when i'm watching on TV, usually Average Joes like me can't tell. then again, the only four people who I know would be sure of the break would be the pitcher, the batter, the catcher and teh plate ump, the latter three being right there. they'd probably tell ya it's breakin.

having never played organized ball, i'm not sure. i did wanna be a pitcher, but the only pitch i've ever seen break is my knuckleball, maybe my slider. i figure those of you who've played at one time might be able to gimme some insight on this.

[Saintsfan]

They have a knuckleball board?? Weird.

Anyway, not having watched much baseball on tv, but having seen a large amount of cricket on tv, its tough to say exactly. Its difficult to see with a naked untrained eye any kind of spin/curve on a ball. However when you see replays and stuff you see the different types of swing and movement on the ball. My sense from baseball coverage is that you don't get the same close analysis of this on TV in america.

[IronChefShark]

from what I understand, a screwball is basically a curveball that breaks the opposite direction from what it naturally breaks.

I could be wrong on this, but an example would be:

say a right handers curveball normally breaks to the left. if a right handers throws that same curveball, but it breaks to the right, then thats a screwball

like I said, just my understanding. if Im wrong Im wrong

[DEAD!]

Want to learn more about baseball pitches?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_baseball_pitches

http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/329/...res/node72.html

[Discrim]

They have a knuckleball board?? Weird.

Anyway, not having watched much baseball on tv, but having seen a large amount of cricket on tv, its tough to say exactly. Its difficult to see with a naked untrained eye any kind of spin/curve on a ball. However when you see replays and stuff you see the different types of swing and movement on the ball. My sense from baseball coverage is that you don't get the same close analysis of this on TV in america.

no, we get it. i just have that untrained eye you speak of you can usually tell on plate replays, though.

and yeah, a board and site about the knuckleball exist. a strange place where Tim Wakefield and Charlie Hough, among others, are posterboys

[NJTank]

A screwball is an off speed pitch with allot movement so in no way is it a fast ball.

[winters in buffalo]

A screwball, while commonly cooked and eaten like a vegetable, is technically a fruit.

[DEAD!]

A screwball, while commonly cooked and eaten like a vegetable, is technically a fruit.

I don't get it

[Shmee]

A screwball, while commonly cooked and eaten like a vegetable, is technically a fruit.

I don't get it

Like a tomato...

It's gonna be one of those questions that nobody can agree upon, like whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable.

[DEAD!]

Oh! Okay, I really thought a screwball was a food. *duh* (at myself)

[Discrim]

everything that's been said here, goes along with conventional thinking that the screwball is meant to have a notable break, otherwise it would be a cut heater. pretty much what i'd thought before finding that knuckler board. cus if you're throwin a screwball and sacrificing break in exchange for more speed, then it ain't a screwball at all, it's a cutter.

daddy, there that man again