A Pitcher’s Grips

Return to main article:

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.

Click here for the May-June 2011 issue table of contents

Sub topics

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

Harvard Confers Six Honorary Degrees

Abdul-Jabbar, Moreno join scholars in climate, poverty, immigration

“Advocate for Education,” Garber Urges

At traditional Baccalaureate Address, Harvard president recalls his student years

Harvard Commencement Day 2025

The 374th Commencement exercises 

Explore More From Current Issue

Publications by Harvard Authors Spring 2025: New Releases

Operatic counterculture, a Passover graphic novel, James Joyce’s biographer, and more

Filmmaker Salvador Litvak's Jewish Movies

The “Accidental Talmudist” on making Jewish movies

Short Headlines from Harvard's History

Seniors’ uncertain future c. 1940, Harvard Law Review news, and more