To throw the two-seam fastball, which has more spin and hence moves more, Brent Suter aligns his second and third fingers along the seams at the point where they are closest together. He grips the four-seam fastball, which goes faster but moves less, with the same fingers perpendicular to a seam where they are more widely spaced. The curve-ball grip puts the index and third fingers together alongside one seam, which imparts the heavy spin that curves the ball’s path when the hurler “snaps” it off at the release. The change-up grip is similar to the two-seam fastball, but with pressure applied by the third and fourth fingers and the ball resting deeper in the hand, touching the palm.
A Pitcher’s Grips

You might also like
Springtime with Mass Audubon
Springtime with Mass Audubon
Harvard Goes Dancing
Crimson women’s basketball prepares for the NCAA tournament.
“A Game of Inches”
Harvard women’s basketball prepares for its rematch with Columbia.
Most popular
Explore More From Current Issue
Alice Hamilton at Harvard—Pioneer for Women in Medicine
Brief life of a public-health pioneer and reformer: 1869-1970
Addressing Gaps in Care for Patients with Disabilities
Lisa Iezzoni explores the unmet needs of patients with disabilities.
Biology's "Mirror Organisms"—And Their Dangers
Life forms built from left-handed DNA and RNA could threaten Earth’s plants, animals, and insects.