If you have been closely watching baseball matches, you are wondering how to throw a curveball with a wiffle ball, isn’t? Let me tell you one thing: You can master in your baseball game and Wiffle ball game when you follow these steps in the right manner. With my experience in playing baseball games for several decades, I am here to share my knowledge with you. Welcome my tutorial with step-by-step guides.
Table of Contents
Things You Need to Remember In Learning How To Throw a Curveball With a Wiffle Ball:
- I am a right-hand pitcher and so every tip that I have shared here are in the assumption that the readers are right handed. But, they can make some adjustments if they are left-handed. You will need an original Wiffle Ball to learn the techniques here.
Things Needed to Understand This Tutorial:
The ball that I use to explain how to throw a curveball with a wiffle ball is a genuine Wiffle brand ball. The reason is that I have not actually tried this technique with any other unbranded or imitation ball.
It is important to make sure that the ball is rough all over the body. To achieve the same, you can get some rough sand paper to rub the surface of the ball. I recommend this because a smooth unused ball will not curve like the roughed one.
Another thing you need is a chair or a similar flat surface to throw the ball. In the actual Wiffle ball game, you will have a stroke-out zone before the batsman. It will be called as a strike if the ball that you throw hits this zone. You can choose a lawn chair for this purpose as the back of such a chair will help you nicely in this regard. The reason is that it will serve as a stationary object for you and you will have something to shoot for. You can also compare ball’s curve with such a chair.
I mentioned baseball earlier because both Wiffle ball and baseball games are similar to each other. So, you can employ this technique of throwing in a baseball game as well. Now, let us head to the step-by-step guide:
Mechanics:
- Even though I am here to share the mechanics, the throwing mechanics in a Wiffle Ball game are not as crucial as they are in the case of a baseball game. But, any blossoming bowler should equip himself with some fundamental knowledge to fine-tune his delivery:
Dodge Spinning Crossways Your Body:
Pitching the ball is not a natural motion of the human body. This holds true when it comes to pitching in the correct manner. When you spin the ball, your right hand will automatically move near your left hip. This action will actually invalidate a great deal of impact on pitch spinning and throwing off.
If you try to throw over-hand, you are recommended to keep your hand harmonized to the right portion of your body. If you try to throw from a side arm or a 3/4th angle, you are recommended to move your arm downward near when you get near the delivery. A bit of hip rotation will help and this is an action that will naturally happen.
Back Knee Bending Should Be Done:
- At the beginning of the delivery, to prepare for the push-off, just a mild bending of your back knee is a good move. This simple movement will really add energy to your range. The reason is that this movement will help you use the energy both in your arms and in your legs for spinning the Wiffle ball.
Keep Your Focus on The Prize:
- In other words, I want you stay focused when you learn how to throw a curveball with a Wiffle ball. This will help you stay in control of the striking zone. It will also help you with employing an open posture in your release of the ball. This means beginning with your first foot slightly away of your other foot. When you do this, you should move your head minimally to get a view of the area since you raise your foot settling to the ground.
Reach the Ground With Your Fore Foot Directed Towards the Target:
- Initially, you might feel it normal to place your fore foot directed in the same route as your other foot started. But, it is not something that should happen. The reason is that you will always be spinning crossways your body and you will not produce as much energy as your body is actually capable of. In case, you reach the ground with your fore foot directed in front, can you guess what will happen? Yes, you are right; your pitch will step before you.
Fundamental Pitches:
- Here in this guide on how to throw a curveball with a Wiffle ball, I wish to share details about some fundamental pitches:
Straight Fastball:
Here, you should hold the ball as if you hold an egg. You should hold the ball lightly with your thumb straight under your index finger and also middle finger. Remember not to hide any holes in the ball with your fingers. Make sure that the wrist is kept straight, but remember to yell it downward when you intend to release the ball. You can spin this type of pitch from any angle. I would recommend you to master this pitch from every angle as it will help you employ it to establish any type of pitch. The ball should be held like in the image given below:
Slider:
In this pitch, you should cover three holes in the ball using your middle finger. Remember to keep some gap between your middle and index fingers. Also, remember to keep a tighter grip using your index finger as compared to that of your middle one. Now, just raise your wrist to a certain extent to the right hand side and quickly remove your index finger.
You can alter the movement of this pitch based on delivery and grip. In case, you position the edge of your pointer finger near the center portion of the ball, your pitch will have a better downhill movement. In addition, if you toss the slider over-hand, it will lose control and will land slightly away. Nevertheless, if you toss from the sidearm angle or 3/4, it will break more away in the case of a right-handed batsman. You can just combine it up to provide the hitter some varied looks with a single pitch. In other words, it should be similar to the image given below:
Curve Ball:
As you look know how to throw a curveball with a Wiffle ball, here I wish to share how to pitch with a curve ball. For curve ball, you should conceal three holes using the middle finger. Just make sure that your wrist is kept straight, but when you are close to delivering the ball, turn the ball in such a way that the fingers roll off the base of the pitch has topspin.
Finally, your palm must be faced close to skyward. An ideal curveball will come with a big break of 12-6, which can even reach 12-5. Curve ball pitch is ideally thrown over-hand. Nevertheless, a good sidearm bowler can utilize it as a frizbee slurve pitch. Here is how the curve ball should look like:
Straight Changeup:
When you employ this method, you are recommended not to hide any holes in the ball with your fingers. But, remember to grip the ball deep into your palm and remember to maintain a strong holding with when maintaining the straightness in your wrist. You can throw it from any angle. But, remember to use the same delivery that you have been employing in fastball, such that the hitter will be fooled. Also, you should not conceal on your throw excessively either. This type of pitch will most probably end with a big hit. Believe me: the hold will reduce the speed of the pitch to a great extent such that the hitter will be fooled.
Step-by-Step Guide:
Here, the first step involved in learning how to throw a curveball with a wiffle ball is gripping the ball and the second step is throwing it. In other words, it is a simple two-step process that you can learn easily:
First Step – The Grip:
Irrespective of whether you are a left hander or a right hander, you should grip the ball with your fingers alongside the seam. Do you know what a seam is? Let me explain: It is nothing, but the line that you can find exactly in the middle of the ball. This is something that splits the perforated and solid portion of the ball. Here, you should keep your eye also alongside the seam. It should be straight opposite to your middle finger. Remember to attach your index finger next to your butt contentedly.
Make sure that all holes of the ball must be facing your eyes and butt. In some sources, you will find that if you are left handed, there will be a recommendation to hold the ball in such a way that the holes should face your butt. But, I tried throwing left-handed similar to that of the right hand holding that I specified here. This means that I kept the ball with all holes facing the eye and butt. I can assure you that this grip works for both hands without any trouble whatsoever. In other words, you should hold the ball as in the image given below:
Second Step – The Throw:
Now: Let us get into the second step. Here, it is really tough to explain the specifics of the throw. But, you can just employ a standard overhand throw and you can trial with it. With several tries, you will naturally see that the touch comes handy. The thing you should remember here is that when you release the ball, slightly bend your wrist downward.
Remember that when you force the ball, you should give utmost pressure through your middle finger. All it takes to master this technique is to practice. Let me tell you one thing: you will get to see your first curve within just a few minutes of starting your practice session. Nevertheless, it will take some days to perfect yourself. In addition, it will also take some days to enlarge the curve.
Some Tips:
In case, you intend to throw a curveball using a taped up Wiffle ball, you can do one thing. You should grip the ball like a 4-seam fastball. Here, you should remember to keep your fingers together. Then, when you throw, just snap your wrist and also your elbow on the top portion of the ball. You will see the ball sink and curve.
If you intend to throw a slider all you have to do is to just grip the taped up wiffle ball similar to a 4-seam fastball and should throw it side arm. You should spin the ball like the spinning of the earth. When you do this, the ball will curve a lot and it might also rise to some extent.
Conclusion:
Wiffle ball is turn out to be one of the best pasttime for children these days. Some children take the game seriously. They aim at becoming district, state and national level players. When this is their goal, they will have to master throwing and this is possible with the help of the steps discussed in this article. As you know, Wiffle ball is a game that is very much similar to that of baseball. It is played with lightweight bat and ball. This game is identified as suitable for children in specific areas. Baseball as against Wiffle ball is common in North America. In addition, it is also common in the Japan and Caribbean. The objective of this game is to hit the ball.
Some technique used in wilffle ball and baseball are very much similar and this is why these two games are interchangeably used in some part of the United States. Hope, you find this article on how to throw a curveball with a wiffle ball useful and if you have anything to share with us, you can do the same.
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