Sidearm (baseball)

Last updated December 24, 2023

In baseball, sidearm is a motion for throwing a ball along a low, approximately horizontal plane rather than a high, mostly vertical plane (overhand).

Sidearm pitchers, also known as sidewinders, are uncommon at all levels of baseball except in Japan, where sidearm pitchers are widely popular. Few find sidearm a natural delivery, and those who do are often discouraged by coaches who know little about sidearm mechanics, and who believe that overhand pitching affords greater velocity. This is generally true, since overhand pitching provides better mechanical leverage with which the body can use to accelerate the ball. But what the sidearm pitcher loses in velocity, they gain in ball movement and unusual release point.

Historical progression of pitching

In the middle of the nineteenth century, the game of baseball began to evolve from a sport played by amateurs for recreation into a more serious game played by professionals.^[1] One of the most dramatic changes was the transition of the pitcher's delivery from an underhand motion to an overhanded throw.^[1] Before the American Civil War, the pitcher's role was to initiate the action by offering an underhanded throw to the batter, in much the same way that a basketball referee offers up a jump ball to begin play.^[1] As the game progressed towards professionalism and became more serious, pitchers began to attempt to prevent the batter from hitting the ball by throwing faster pitches.^[1] The rules governing the delivery of pitches proved to be hard to enforce, and pitchers continued to stretch the boundaries of the rules until by the 1870s, the release point of pitches had reached the pitcher's waist level.^[1] As the game continued to evolve into the 20th century, pitchers' release points continued to rise to present day levels, although some adherents continued to use the sidearm delivery.

Ball movement

The various spins pitchers commonly employ—fastballs, curveballs, sliders, cutters—cause the ball to diverge from a "normal" trajectory. This is caused by the Magnus effect, which makes the ball move in the direction of its rotation. Batters learn these spins and their likely trajectories, but predominantly from high-axis pitchers whose pitches rotate around a mostly horizontal axis. Sidearm pitches rotate similarly, but around an approximately vertical axis. This causes common pitches to behave very uncommonly. For example, the four-seam fastball, when thrown by overhand power pitchers, seems to "hop", or rise^[2] on its way to the plate. This is because the ball is rotating backwards, lowering the air pressure above the ball. The same pitch thrown by the sidearm pitcher causes a horizontal rotation, and consequent sideways movement. Sidearm pitchers whose deliveries are below the horizontal throw a fastball that rotates nearly forward, so the ball will sink rather than rise.

Release point

Sidewinders' unusual release points make it difficult for the batter to "see" the ball because hitters are so accustomed to seeing the release from near the pitcher's head. Further, because the ball is released from alongside the rubber (and some sidearm pitchers step a little toward their pitching arm side when they deliver the ball) it can appear to a same-side batter that the ball has been thrown at him.

These characteristics have typecast today's sidearm pitchers as relievers, entering the game in the late innings as a "different look" from overhand pitchers. Though this is an effective strategy, some of the greatest starting pitchers in baseball history, notably Walter Johnson, Satchel Paige, Don Drysdale, Carl Mays, Dizzy Dean, and Randy Johnson, threw the ball sidearm.

Other prominent major leaguer sidewinders include, or have included, Madison Bumgarner, Chris Sale, Jimmy Herget, Scott Feldman, Pat Neshek, Scott Sauerbeck, Dennis Eckersley, Mark Eichhorn, Javier López, Jake Peavy, Vinnie Pestano, Ted Abernathy, Gene Garber, Dave Baldwin, and Bob Locker. Still others such as Jered Weaver, Bronson Arroyo, David Cone, and Tom Henke would sometimes "drop down" to a sidearm delivery to fool a batter for a strikeout.

It is most common to hear that sidearm pitching places less stress on the elbow and shoulder, thus reducing a pitcher's risk of injury. It is also not uncommon to hear the opposite. Analyses of pitchers' deliveries shows that arms slots are a function of shoulder tilt,^[3] not elbow angle, and this suggests that no one arm slot poses a greater threat to the elbow than another. It is likely, however, that pitchers who throw overhand are more susceptible to hyperabduction^[4] and concomitant rotator cuff problems, because they more easily throw the ball with the elbow higher than the level of the shoulders.

In American football

Sidearm throwing is uncommon amongst quarterbacks in the NFL as it may not have enough arc to throw over the defenders, but relies on strong and quick wrist movements to generate power and throwing under and around blitzing defensive linemen and linebackers. Rich Gannon, Michael Vick, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are notable sidearm quarterbacks.

Related Research Articles

Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field, with only underhand pitches permitted. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitcher</span> Player who pitches the ball in baseball

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer.

The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit and throw fastballs at speeds of 95–105 miles per hour (153–169 km/h) (officially) and up to 108.1 miles per hour (174.0 km/h) (unofficially). Pitchers who throw more slowly can put movement on the ball, or throw it on the outside of home plate where batters cannot easily reach it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slider (pitch)</span> Baseball pitch

In baseball, a slider is a breaking ball pitch that tails laterally and down through the batter's hitting zone. It is thrown at a speed that is lower than a fastball, but higher than the pitcher's curveball.

In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curveball, power curveball, and the knuckle curve. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to pitcher.

A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball.

In baseball, a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pitchers are expected to pitch for a significant portion of the game, although their ability to do this depends on many factors, including effectiveness, stamina, health, and strategy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitch (baseball)</span> The act of a pitcher throwing a baseball from a mound to home plate

In baseball, the pitch is the act of throwing the baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be thrown underhand, much like "pitching in horseshoes". Overhand pitching was not allowed in baseball until 1884.

A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on the ball.

A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is called what it is because with every rotation of the ball as it is thrown, four seams come into view. A few pitchers at the major league level can sometimes reach a pitch speed of over 100 mph. It is often compared with the two-seam fastball.

In baseball, a circle changeup or circle change is a pitch thrown with a grip that includes a circle formation, hence the name circle changeup. The circle is formed by making a circle with the index finger, holding the thumb at the bottom of the ball parallel to the middle finger and holding the ball far out in the hand. The ball is thrown turning the palm out.

In baseball, a submarine is a pitch in which the ball is released often just above the ground, but not underhanded, with the torso bent at a right angle, and shoulders tilted so severely that they rotate around a nearly horizontal axis. This is in stark contrast to the underhand softball pitch in which the torso remains upright, the shoulders are level, and the hips do not rotate.

Throughout the history of baseball, the rules have frequently changed as the game continues to evolve. A few common rules most professional leagues have in common is that four balls is a base on balls, three strikes is a strikeout, and three outs end a half-inning.

In baseball, an off-speed pitch is a pitch thrown at a slower speed than a fastball. Breaking balls and changeups are the two most common types of off-speed pitches. Very slow pitches which require the batter to provide most of the power on contact through bat speed are known as "junk" and include the knuckleball and the Eephus pitch, a sort of extreme changeup. The specific goals of off-speed pitches may vary, but in general they are used to disrupt the batter's timing, thereby lessening his chances of hitting the ball solidly or at all. Virtually all professional pitchers have at least one off-speed pitch in their repertoire. Despite the fact that most of these pitches break in some way, batters are sometimes able to anticipate them due to hints that the pitcher gives, such as changes in arm angle, arm speed, or placement of fingers.

A gyroball is a type of baseball pitch used primarily by players in Japan. It is thrown with a spiral-like spin, so that there is no Magnus force on the ball as it arrives at home plate. The gyroball is sometimes confused with the shuuto, another pitch used in Japan.

The shuuto (シュート) or shootball is a baseball pitch. It is commonly thrown by right-handed Japanese pitchers such as Hiroki Kuroda, Noboru Akiyama, Kenjiro Kawasaki, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish and Masumi Kuwata. The most renowned shuuto pitcher in history was Masaji Hiramatsu, whose famous pitch was dubbed the razorshuuto because it seemed to "cut the air" when thrown.

Fastpitch softball, or simply fastpitch, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist.

The 12–6 curveball is one of the types of pitches thrown in baseball. It is categorized as a breaking ball because of its downward break. The 12–6 curveball, unlike the normal curveball, breaks in a downward motion in a straight line. This explains the name "12–6", because the break of the pitch refers to the ball breaking from the number 12 to the number 6 on a clock. While the 11–5 and 2–8 variations are very effective pitches, they are less effective than a true 12–6, because the ball will break into the heart of the bat more readily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overhand throw</span> Single-handed throw of an object from above the shoulder

The overhandthrow is a single-handed throw of a projectile where the object is thrown above the shoulder.

Im Gi-yeong is a South Korean professional baseball pitcher currently playing for the Kia Tigers of the KBO League.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Morris, Peter (2010). Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero. Government Institutes. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-5666-3870-8 . Retrieved 11 July 2012.
↑ Adair, Robert K., The Physics of Baseball, HarperCollins Perennial: New York, 2002, pp. 55–62, ISBN 0-06-008436-7 Contains a discussion about whether it is possible for a fastball to overcome gravity sufficiently to actually rise.
↑ Arm Slot – Perception Archived 2010-09-29 at the Wayback Machine . Chrisoleary.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.
↑ Hyperabduction Archived 2010-10-05 at the Wayback Machine . Chrisoleary.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Catcher-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Morris, Peter (2010). Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero. Government Institutes. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-5666-3870-8 . Retrieved 11 July 2012.

[2] Adair, Robert K., The Physics of Baseball, HarperCollins Perennial: New York, 2002, pp. 55–62, ISBN 0-06-008436-7 Contains a discussion about whether it is possible for a fastball to overcome gravity sufficiently to actually rise.

[3] Arm Slot – Perception Archived 2010-09-29 at the Wayback Machine . Chrisoleary.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.

[4] Hyperabduction Archived 2010-10-05 at the Wayback Machine . Chrisoleary.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]