Taking the hump out of the backhand change

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

One of the most common problems with the backhand change is a tendency for it to have a hump — a tendency to go up around chest or belly high before it gets to the plate. If it happens too late it can be a big issue, because there's another name for a changeup that comes in too high: a home run.

A clue as to why that happens comes from another name for the backhand change — the flip change. Pitchers are often taught that at release they should flick or flip the wrist. The problem with that method is that it can create an "escape hatch" for the pitch to move upwards. Depending on how they do the flip, the fingers may wind up point upward, which means when the ball comes out it has a slight upward trajectory. As it gets closer to the plate it continues moving upward until it reaches its highest point, then starts losing altitude due to gravity. The result is a path that looks like a hump.

In my experience, the better way to throw the backhand change is to lift the ball slightly as you come toward the hip, then pull the hand straight forward, keeping the palm pointing down. When you do that, the fingers block the ball from moving upward. As a result, the ball can't go any higher than the hand is at release, and it begins moving downward from there.

To give pitchers the idea of keeping the palm pointed toward the ground, I will tell them there is a message written on the palm of their hand. What the message says depends on their age. For the younger girls I usually say it's a message to the coach that says "Make us run five laps." Every time she shows her palm to the catcher (who is usually Dad/Coach), the team has to run five laps. I'll tell her she can quickly become the most unpopular girl on the team if she keeps showing the palm.

For an older girl, I will say the name and phone number of the boy she really likes but that her parents can't stand is written on her palm. If she shows it, her parents will know she's seeing that boy and that will be the end of that. They usually get that pretty quickly.

Is this the only way to throw the backhand change? Of course not. But it's one that's worked for my students. If you have a pitcher who is having trouble with a hump in her change, try taking the flip out and using this method instead.
——————————
Looking for more great pitching tips and tricks?
Check out Winning Fastpitch Softball by Legendary Fastpitch Pitcher Hal Skinner.