Jared Schwilk
Mr. McConnaughey & Mr. Albert
English 10A, period 7
March 3, 2014
The curveball was based on a spinning clamshell that curved across the water on a Brooklyn Beach (Fleitz, D). A curveball may not be the easiest thing to learn, but after you learn it you will never forget how to throw it. First you need to get a grip on the ball and rest your pinkie and ring finger beside the ball, this is for support and the spin. Plan on releasing the ball aiming at the catchers mask (Kendrick, S). Secondly you should wind up the same as if you were throwing a fastball. Your palm should be facing first base as the ball goes over your head. Keep your wrist cocked and rotated toward your body. Finally you want to keep your elbow up and turn your wrist, then snap your wrist down as you release the ball. The learning process will be a lot easier and quicker if you have a good coach that can help you if you can't get a motion down.
The curveball was invented over 100 years ago by William Arthur Cummings (Fleitz, D). His older brother and teammates called him Candy Cummings (Fleitz, D). Cummings started to develop the curveball in 1861 and 1862 without much progress. After many years Cummings finally invented the curveball in 1867 (Fleitz, D). This invention made him one of the most dominant pitchers of the time. Cummings quit baseball at the age of twenty-eight (Fleitz, D). Other players started to develope their own curveball by the 1874 season (Fleitz, D). Batters started to learn to hit the curveball by the 1877 season (Fleitz, D).
A curveball can be hard to hit, but it helps if you can throw one yourself. I have been playing baseball for the past eight years in many different leagues. The curveball was not the easi...
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... pitcher in the league. Baseball is one of the best sports to play to keep you active and sharpen your reflexes. Everyone should try playing baseball at least once in their life. Or maybe even learn to just throw a few different kinds of pitches like curveball and knuckleball, incase their children grow up playing baseball.
Works Cited
Fleitz, D.. N. p.. Web. 4 February 2014
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Kendrick, S.. N. p.. Web. 4 February 2014
Works Consulted
Steven, E.. N. p.. Web. 3 February 2014
N. p.. Web. 3 February 2014.
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Throw a Wicked Curveball
Mens Health, Volume 28, issue 4, pg. 86-86, April 2013
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I don’t know when the first curveball was thrown or who threw it, but there is a lot of controversy out there about whether or not the curveball really exists. The only forces on the curveball were thought to be gravity and air resistance, ( ). So obviously, the path of the “curveball” was just an illusion, because the effects of gravity pulled the ball toward the ground, at 9.8 meters/squared seconds, as soon as the ball left the pitcher’s finger tips, and the air drag is just the force acting in the opposite direction slowing the ball as soon as the ball is hurled from the same point mentioned above. Concluding that the ball does not curve; the ball just follows the path of expected projectile motion. Even as technology presents itself, scientists have been able to show step by step, strobe photos of a curve ball and conclude that the curveball was just an optical illusion( ).
Many people might think that swinging the bat straight through the ball would be enough to hit the ball a decent distance off the bat. There's many more mechanics involved in the swinging process. Muscle has only a small part to play in the swinging a bat for power. There are two types of mechanics involved while swinging a bat, Linear and Rotational. Rotational mechanics are the dominant source of power in the swing. Out of the rotational mechanics come the two forces that help generate the speed and power of the swing, torque and the other comes from the energy of rotation. Speed from the energy of rotation comes from the path that your hands follow as you swing the bat. The speed generated by the circular rotation from your hands is like a ball at the end of a string, as long as your hands are moving in a circle then the ball continues to accelerate in a circle. So the bat will also move in at an increasing speed as long as your hands are following a circular path as you swing. Any foward movement of the hands or body in a straight line won't add to the overall bat speed.
Just remember these steps, and with a little bit of practice you could be a good pitcher in no time.
The researcher has chosen to write this paper on hitting because she has played softball for twelve years and the perfect softball swing has always eluded her. The softball swing is one of the most difficult softball skills to achieve greatness in. There are a number of great hitters all with different batting stances and styles, each one comfortable to them. There are many different tactics and coaching ideas out there to help improve hitting. In fact, there are several videos now on the market to help the softball player perform better. Coaches often teach hitting drills to improve batting techniques and ability. Confidence is an important factor in hitting. If the player lacks confidence then she will not be a good hitter. Softball is not only a physical game but a mental game.
It’s a Sunday afternoon and the whole family is over at grandmother’s house playing a fun game of pickup baseball until they realize they do not know how to hit a baseball. Luckily it is a rather simple process that can easily be taught and learned.
Baseball is not a difficult game to comprehend, but it can a very long time to achieve a high level of performance. Usually one starts playing this game at a very young age and the first thing they start out with is throwing. Throwing a baseball involves exploiting all major muscle groups in the body to generate a large torque on the arm that will in turn create a high potential for speed when it is released.
Baseball is known as America’s national pastime, and has been played for over 100 years. Baseball can be a lot of fun, but is also extremely challenging to play, especially trying to hit a 90 mile per hour fastball. I am a very devoted baseball player myself, and over the years I have learned numerous key things about the game. Baseball does not only require physical strength to hit and throw the ball, but it also requires a great mindset, such as, mental preparedness, concentration, and a positive attitude.
The most important part of being a good pitcher is throwing strikes. With out that you will not be able to get hitters out and you will walk everyone. To throw strikes you have to have a good wind up and delivery. After you have your fastball mastered you can begin to throw different pitches such as a curveball, change up, or slider.
I have played softball ever since the tee ball days. It has been a sport that I have grown to love and couldn’t imagine not playing. The way I have grown up playing softball has changed tremendously from the time it was 1st created in 1887 on Thanksgiving Day. The first time this game was even thought of was when a group of excited men threw a boxing glove to another man who swung a broom trying to hit the boxing glove, like a bat hitting a ball. This group of men, who were all apart of the Farragut boat club, decided they would turn this into a game of their own and softball was born. Although the name softball was not finally decided on until 1926. It was first called indoor baseball. Kitten baseball, or pumpkin ball. Softball didn't grow rapidly until 1933 a softball tournament was set up at the world fair. There were 55 teams in the invent and over 350,000 watching. The game of softball went crazy. Not just in the U.S., but all around the world.
Throwing a baseball is a lot like throwing any other object. Children grow up throwing things around the house, and it very similar to how you throw a baseball. From a young age, I grew up throwing objects around the house. My father was smart enough to recognize this trend and sign me up for baseball later on when I was much older. To throw a baseball you first need to understand the shape of the object. The baseball has seams around the circumference which are placed around the outer edges of the baseball for added grip. Before we get into the types of pitches and grips, we need to understand the arm and body movement. The movement of your body and arms happens in many steps that follow a fluid form to increase accuracy
First off, the knuckle ball. It is called the hardest pitch to hit. A pitch that seemingly floats like a butterfly and then magically drops into the strike zone, dumbfounding the batter and almost always resulting in a strike out. But how is this pitch actually thrown? The name of the pitch essentially entails how the pitch is thrown, the pitcher curls his fingers into his hand, placing the knuckles of his fingers on the ball, and releasing the ball in this manner and fashion. But why does this work? It comes down to the position of the laces. By throwing the ball off the pitcher’s knuckles, the ball exhibits no spin throughout the entire duration of the pitch. This allows different lift forces within the air is passes to exert themselves upon the ball. By doing this, the ball is subject to different planar movements as a result of different lift forces manifesting themselves upon the baseball that is thrown. In a simplistic explanation, this is why a knuckle ball “knuckles” as it is thrown.
I had played softball in P.E. enough to know the basics…or so I thought. I stood there leaning against my bat listening to Coach McGownd talk. As he talked I began absorbing everything he said. Gone were the days of simply stepping up to the plate to hit. Now, each at bat had a purpose and guidelines to follow in order to maximize the batters chance of successfully hitting the ball. There was so much information—proper stance, proper mechanics, how to set up in the batters box based on what you wanted to do (i.e. bunt, pull the ball, hit opposite, slap hit), and so much more. When Coach McGownd finished giving us our instructions, we shuffled off to our assigned station and began doing our assigned drills. I happily watched as the older, more experienced players took their swings. The sweet pinging of the metal bats against the balls and laughter blanketed the field. I patiently waited as the older players took their turns. When my turn came I picked up my bat, stepped up to the tee and followed along as my brain got its clipboard out and started checking off each step I had just learned. I took my swing and was awarded with a nice popping sound as I made contact with the ball. I knew then, that this sound of the bat making contact with a ball would become one of my favorite sounds. I continued to rotate through the drills enjoying the repetitiveness of the task. Time passed by quickly as I got lost in the
Americans began playing baseball on informal teams, using local rules, in the early 1800s. By the 1860s, the sport, unrivaled in popularity, was being described as America's "national pastime." Alexander Joy Cartwright of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845. Alexander Cartwright and the members of his New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club devised the first rules and regulations for the modern game of baseball.
The first step to mastering the art of catching is to be physically and mentally prepared. It starts by having the proper equipment. This is more of a preference than anything. One should feel comfortable behind the plate while being well protected. It is also important to have the desire to fill the role of the catcher on a team. This simply means one must be knowledgeable in what he or she is doing while also having the motivation to play the position.
Softball was developed as an indoor game in 1887 by George W.Hancock in Chicago. He used a 17-inch ball with outward turned seams. In the Spring of 1888, Hancock’s game moved outdoors. It was played on a small diamond and called indoor-outdoor. In 1889 Hancock published the first set of rules because of such high popularity in the sport. In 1895 a fire department officer with the name of Lewis Rober decided that he needed an activity to keep the firefighters active during their free time. Rober was unfamiliar with Hancock’s version of the game and in 1895 adapted the game for outdoor play. Rober used a 12-inch ball with a cover like a baseball. In 1900, Rober named the league Kitten League Ball.