If you have been reading my blogs for any period of time you’ll know that I have been asking coaches players and sportswriters for their definition of the curveball. I do this in the hope that there is some kind of consensus as to exactly what is the pathway that the curveball takes. Once this is resolved perhaps we can then look at other pitches.
The answers to what pathway a curveball takes vary tremendously. Some say it breaks straight down, others say it has a little fade as it sinks down, still others say that it breaks from side to side — depending upon whether it is a right or left-handed batter, while some say that it is any breaking ball that does not travel in a straight line to the batter.
To compound matters even more, I recently read an article in a past Sporting News magazine by Cardinals C Jason LaRue. In response to a question as to who has the best curveball, he stated that it was Adam Wainwright whose curveball is “anything but normal”. After reading his description I am tempted to agree.
He stated that his curveball is “… an old-fashioned, 12 to 6 breaking ball. You don’t see a lot of them these days because so many guys throw sliders”. He continued with “Most of the curveballs you do see kind of die out as they are breaking. Not Adam’s. It’s like his never stops breaking. It’s sharp all the way”.
I thought he was referring to the 12 to 6 break but I was wrong he stated that Adam “… can practically start it behind a right-handed hitter and have it break in as a strike. When you are a hitter and you see a pitch coming at you like that, your instincts tell you to get out of the way. With Adam you can’t because it can end up over the plate”.
This description fits a ball that breaks from side to side, not top to bottom. This means that his curveball can break either from 12 to 6 or from 3 to 9. How’s this for more confusion as to exactly what pathway a curveball takes. Is it any wonder that there is no consensus as to what constitutes a curveball?
For more information on this and similar topics see Sports: Is It All B. S.?