The Power of The Changeup

The Power of The Changeup

If you are a hitter, one of the first lessons you are taught is to hunt fastballs. This has been an approach that has stood the test of time, and why not? It is simple, easy, and makes sense. If you are a hitter you do not want to be beat by a fastball. It is the easiest pitch to hit in baseball and it has had the most recognizable repetitions in American batting practice. 

With this in mind, I have witnessed an issue with youth baseball dating back to even when I was in Little League. That is the issue of teaching the curveball before the changeup. This never made any sense to me. The curveball has a different release than the changeup, and it caused more arm issues for my buddies. With research now based off of arm injuries being linked to curveballs being thrown at a young age, the changeup has been appreciated more by youth coaches.

 But even after Little League, the changeup is one of the most powerful and deceptive pitches that can be in a pitcher's arsenal. For example, if you are a pitcher and have a changeup, a pitching coach will NEVER scrap your changeup as a pitch. But a pitching coach will scrap a curveball or a slider if it either isn't a very good pitch, or it is causing issues with your arm. With this as fact, the changeup should be more eye-popping to you right now. 

So you are probably thinking, okay Zach we get it, the changeup is a quality off-speed pitch, but why? So here is your answer. The changeup allows you to throw the pitch like a fastball, and the harder you throw the more effective the changeup will be. The changeup will slow down at least 8-12%. The changeup looks like a fastball out of the hand of the pitcher has either sink or run. Any pitch with sink or run is a great pitch. 

The end goal of the changeup isn't to make a hitter to look silly, but it can. The biggest asset that the changeup has is to create weak contact or completely fool a hitter when you NEED it. The changeup causes weak contact and is a great pitch to have when you need a double play ball or a groundball. Another great thing that the changeup does is, it makes a fastball appear faster than it actually is. If you pitch 85 miles per hour and your changeup clocks in at 78, it makes your fastball appear faster to the batter's eyes. You bring sink or run along with your changeup and you will be dominant. 

There are many changeup grips, but there are conditions that all changeup grips must have. These are the conditions:

1. The ball must be in the palm and the fingers, not in the fingertips.

2. The ball must have as little pressure as possible in your hand, but still be stable enough to hold. 

3. Hand tension must be as minimal as possible. To make this happen, the thumb must be on the bottom of the baseball.

Another note to keep in mind about the changeup is that it takes lots of repetitions to make a quality changeup happen. The earlier that the changeup is introduced to the player, the easier that it will be mastered by when they are in high school. With that being said, the changeup should only be introduced when the fastball has become a quality pitch.

 I hope that this post is helpful to many of those curious about the changeup! As always, thank you for reading!