Power Pros Forum

Definitly, vertical slider is an awsome pitch, but realistic.

rising sliders are good.

I love the vertical slider but it annoys me when the galaxy sharks find out how much it breaks after i thow it to them alot
Oh and i figured out how to throw the vertical slider in real life.

O.O gimme the site or tell me who your coach is.

Well the thing is i was trying to find out how to throw a regular slider but it ended up dropping when i threw it

OMG! The same thing happens with me redsoxman! It only breaks 3-6 when I go sidearm. 3/4 and overhand, it goes like, 2-7 or 1-6.

I noticed how everyone is talking about strikeouts, but K pitchers tend to get rocked easier, so I will include groundout combos as well.

ANYWAYS! Personally, you can demolish with a good series of pitches that look very similar. With my new pitcher, I gave him 4 different fastballs, Shuuto (Running Fastball), Cutter, 2-seam and regular 4-seam. I find that Slider then Cutter work well, as long as the cutter is a lower level for less break. Equal or higher cutter-slider ratio may not work so well.

Shuuto and cutter is a decent combo for groundouts, few pop ups. The change in direction throw batters off, and mix it with a similar breaking 2-seam, and it'll be a devestating groundout power pitcher. The difference in velocity is more then enough, but it is more for ground outs.

Then, my personal favorite, the 4-seam, CHG and CRV combo. It's basic, but still does the trick for me. low inside fastball, with a CHG in the same spot or below out of the zone, and then finish off with a CRV low an don the corner, you got them with either a rare GO or the usual K.

Then, I tend to go with Slider outside, curve in, and fastball high and inside, and since my pitcher has 4 to choose from, either on will work.

Other then that, SLD and V-SLD tends to work well due to the spin, 2-seam and SPLT, CRV and DCRV, or anything with similiar spin. But then again, that's why I like Fast-CHG, best 1-2 combo ever I think.

me_and_lucy told me about a combo: 2SFB and SIFB
Personally, there are two other combos I like:
KN + Insanely fast fastball (gyroball?)
and this one comes from Andre Rodriguez, a 3 pitch combo
Lv. 7 V-SLD + Lv. 7 V-SLD + Lv. 1 FORK
if you mix it up even just a little, it'll keep them guessing whether to predict the insane break of the v-sld or the tiny break of the forkball (also, they break in different directions. the v-sld goes away from RHB while the forkball breaks toward them)

SteveJax, I think you made a mistake- you listed V-SLD twice?

I personally love the knuckler and knuckle-curve. A lot of guys get themselves out with the knuckler.

But one of my best pitchers, James Calloway, uses the fastball methodology - a 99mpg heater, a 94 mph cutter with a little movement, and a 92mpg SIFB with a little movement. Having all 3 fastballs in such close range, and having the hitter not be able to tell if its going in, out, or straight - makes for a winning combination. The pitches aren't hi-level, 1-2 only, but it works like a charm.

yeah, that's also why josh beckett is so good, he has the 4SFB, 2SFB and SIFB all above 90 mph, great combo.

and no, i meant to list v-sld twice.
that way they'll be set up better for the forkball (and by better, i mean worse)
they can barely hit the v-sld anyways...

KN and V-SLD combos drive batters insane. Mix these with a decent fastball and a 2SFB I've found does very well.

no one has talked about the palmball. at lv.3-7, that pitch is SICK!!!

Palmball is an awesome pitch. Many DOWN pitches are awesome.
Another awesome DOWN pitch is the SPLT. It is very fast and just drops off the table, totally unexpected. It makes a good groundout pitch, or, at higher levels, a strikeout pitch. Especially useful against human batters.

However, in my opinion, the single best overall pitch is the Slow Curveball. It is cheap to upgrade, and batters swing and miss at it 90% of the time. It's the perfect strikeout pitch, especially if the pitcher has Gd Delievery.

Of course, other pitch combos, when used correctly, are vastly better than any one pitch.

It's really not about the pitch itself, but the combination of pitches and location from experience. I mean, a fastball away is easier to hit then high and inside, you know? A curve going in is the same, instead of breaking out. If you go towards the batter with the breaking pitch, it's pretty much a good pitch, hands down. So no single pitch will do it, any pitch at a high level will do good, but for whatever ever level and velocity and what not, I suggest going towards the batter.

exactly.

You might get fewer strikeouts this way (unless you have Slow Curveball) but you'll get vastly more ground-ball outs and you will allow fewer hits leading to a better ERA and more games won/saved.