Brooklyn Softball - Slow Pitch Pitching Techniques

Slow Pitch Pitching Techniques

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Here are five slow pitch pitches to throw. I included pictures to show how to hold the ball as a left-hander. Since this is slow pitch softball, there is not a lot of movement on the ball, but there can be enough to throw off the batter or to force them to hit a less than ideal pitch:

Straight Pitch - The first is a straight pitch with no motion. In general, if you were to look down while you were pitching, your hand would look like the second picture below. If you find that you are not hitting the strike zone, you can move your thumb grip slightly to the left or right to direct the ball.
For Right Handers: Keep your index finger touching the left narrow seam and your middle finger right next to it. Your thumb is on the bottom part of the ball in the middle of the seams. Separating your index and middle fingers will make the ball go to the outside (right). Throughout the pitch, keep your thumb on top of the ball and pointing straight towards home plate. Make minor adjustments to speed and when you release to change whether it’s a high ball or low one.
For Left Handers: Keep your index finger touching the right narrow seam and your middle finger right next to it. Your thumb is on the bottom part of the ball in the middle of the seams. I found that separating my index and middle fingers was making the ball go to the outside (left). Throughout the pitch, keep your thumb on top of the ball and pointing straight towards home plate. Make minor adjustments to speed and when you release to change whether it’s a high ball or low one.


Fig.1-Fingers for left-handed straight pitch	Fig.2-Thumb for left-handed straight pitch

Slider Pitch - The second is a slider that curves off at the end. Put the index and middle fingers on the seam as in the straight pitch. The thumb goes on the side of the ball closer to the index finger. Hold the ball a lot tighter with your ring finger and pinky to keep the softball steady. Throw as if your thumb were on top of the ball and do not turn your wrist at all.
For Right Handers: This pitch will curve off to the left at the end.
For Left Handers: This pitch will curve off to the right at the end.


Fig.3-Side view of left-handed slider pitch	Fig.4-Hand looks like this for slider pitch

Curve Ball - The third pitch curves off in the opposite direction of the slider pitch.
For Right Handers:For righties, this pitch curves off to the right. Put your middle finger on the right seam and have your index finger touching the middle finger. The thumb goes on the bottom as in the straight pitch. Throw normally without any wrist action. Because the middle finger is resting on the ball longer, it makes the ball spin in the other direction.
For Left Handers:For southpaws, this pitch curves off to the left. Put your middle finger on the left seam and have your index finger touching the middle finger. The thumb goes on the bottom as in the straight pitch. Throw normally without any wrist action. Because the middle finger is resting on the ball longer, it makes the ball spin in the other direction.

Fig.5-Fingers on left seam for left-handed
curve ball pitch

Spin Pitch - This pitch was taught by one of the umpires who plays in the Saturday leagues. It’s a complete spin pitch. It goes off to the inside, but more importantly, it seems to be a slower pitch that spins off the bat when contact is made. I think that the ball doesn’t go as far and there are more ground balls, but I haven’t been able to confirm that yet. This is the hardest pitch for which to get the timing down.
For Right and Left Handers:To throw this pitch, put your thumb in the center of the horseshoe of the seam. Have all four fingers resting together on the other side of the ball. Hold the ball with just your fingertips. Start with the thumb on top of the ball when throwing as with Figure 7. As your arm comes through, rotate your wrist and release the ball so your four fingers are on top at the release as in Figure 6. Make sure your arm is still moving in the same line. It’s just the wrist which changes the motion. Experiment with the speed at which you rotate your wrist. Faster rotation gives more spin but is harder to control.So, I go with however I feel that day. You must be done with the rotation by the time you release the ball so the four fingers are pointing right at the batter.


Fig.6-Fingers for left-handed spin pitch	Fig.7-Thumb for left-handed spin pitch

Backhand Pitch - Keith from England suggested adding the backhand pitch. Here is his description of how to throw it:
For Right and Left Handers:My pitch is a backhand. Middle three fingers along the seam and on the top of the ball, thumb and pinky at opposite sides to form pivot points. The degree of wrist "flick" at the point of release determines how much spin and, to some degree, the height of the pitch. Tends to produce pitches at around the 12 foot max, lots of stability and accuracy.

If you have a pitch you would like to suggest, send us your slow pitch technique.

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