In
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
, a breaking ball is a
pitch that does not travel straight as it approaches the
batter; it will have sideways or downward motion on it, sometimes both (see
slider
Slider or Sliders may refer to:
Arts
* K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise
* '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex
* ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series
* ...
). A breaking ball is not a specific pitch by that name, but is any pitch that "breaks", such as a
curveball
In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...
,
slider
Slider or Sliders may refer to:
Arts
* K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise
* '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex
* ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series
* ...
, or
screwball
A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...
. A
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
who primarily uses breaking ball pitches is often referred to as a
junkballer.
A breaking ball is more difficult than a straight pitch for a
catcher
Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
to receive as breaking pitches sometimes hit the ground (whether intentionally, or not) before making it to the plate. A curveball moves down and to the left for a right handed pitcher. For a left hand pitcher, it moves down and to the right. And blocking a breaking ball requires thought and preparation by the catcher. The pitcher then, must have confidence in the catcher, and the catcher in himself, to block any ball in the dirt; if there are runners on base, they will likely advance if the ball gets away from the catcher. (Whether the pitcher is right- or left-handed will dictate which direction the catcher must turn his body to adjust for the spin of an upcoming breaking ball. This necessary movement may reveal the next intended pitch to the batter; therefore an experienced catcher must fake or mask his intentions when preparing for the pitch.)
If a breaking ball fails to break, it is called a "hanging" breaking ball, or specifically, a "hanging" curve. The "hanger" presents a high, slow pitch that is easy for the batter to see, and often results in an extra-base hit or a
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
.
Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed ...
wrote in ''Don Mattingly's Hitting Is Simple: The ABC's of Batting .300'' that "hitting a breaking ball is one of the toughest things you'll have to learn" due to the ball's very brief window in the
strike zone
In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's kn ...
.
Physics
Generally the
Magnus effect
The Magnus effect is an observable phenomenon commonly associated with a spinning object moving through a fluid. The path of the spinning object is deflected in a manner not present when the object is not spinning. The deflection can be expl ...
describes the laws of physics that make a curveball curve. A fastball travels through the air with backspin, which creates a higher pressure zone in the air ahead of and under the baseball. The baseball's raised seams augment the ball's ability to develop a
boundary layer
In physics and fluid mechanics, a boundary layer is the thin layer of fluid in the immediate vicinity of a bounding surface formed by the fluid flowing along the surface. The fluid's interaction with the wall induces a no-slip boundary condi ...
and therefore a greater differential of pressure between the upper and lower zones. The effect of
gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
is partially counteracted as the ball rides on and into increased pressure. Thus the fastball falls less than a ball thrown without spin (neglecting
knuckleball
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...
effects) during the 60 feet 6 inches it travels to home plate.
On the other hand, a curveball, thrown with
topspin
In ball sports, topspin or overspin is a property of a ball that rotates forwards as it is moving. Topspin on a ball propelled through the air imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air (see Magnu ...
, creates a higher pressure zone on top of the ball, which deflects the ball downward in flight. Instead of counteracting gravity, the curveball adds additional downward force, thereby giving the ball an exaggerated drop in flight.
History
Baseball lore has it that the curveball was invented in the early 1870s by
Candy Cummings
William Arthur "Candy" Cummings (October 18, 1848 – May 17, 1924) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher in the National Association and National League. Cummings is widely credited with inventing the curveball. ...
(it is debatable). An early demonstration of the "skewball" or curveball occurred at the
Capitoline Grounds
The Capitoline Grounds, also known as Capitoline Skating Lake and Base Ball Ground,Lowry, p. 34 was a baseball park located in Brooklyn, New York from 1864 to 1880. It was built to rival nearby Union Grounds, also in Brooklyn. The park hosted loc ...
in Brooklyn in August 1870 by
Fred Goldsmith. In 1869, a reporter for the ''
New York Clipper
The ''New York Clipper'', also known as ''The Clipper'', was a weekly entertainment newspaper published in New York City from 1853 to 1924. It covered many topics, including circuses, dance, music, the outdoors, sports, and theatre. It had a ...
'' described
Phonney Martin
Alphonse Case "Phonney" Martin (August 4, 1845 – May 24, 1933) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and pitcher who played two seasons in the National Association from to .
Career
Martin, born in New York City, was an Amer ...
as an "extremely hard pitcher to hit for the ball never comes in a straight line‚ but in a tantalizing curve." If the observation is true, this would pre-date Cummings and Goldsmith.
In 1876, the first known collegiate baseball player to perfect the curveball was
Clarence Emir Allen
Clarence Emir Allen (September 8, 1852 – July 9, 1932) was a U.S. Representative from Utah.
Born in Girard Township, Pennsylvania, Allen attended the district school and Girard (Pennsylvania) Academy. He studied law. He graduated from Wes ...
of Western Reserve College, now known as
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
, where he never lost a game. Both Allen and his teammate John P. Barden became famous for employing the curve in the late 1870s. In the early 1880s,
Clinton Scollard
Clinton Scollard (1860–1932) was an American poet and writer of fiction. He was a Professor of English at Hamilton College.
Professional career
Scollard was born at Clinton, Oneida County, New York on September 18, 1860, son of James Isaac ...
(1860–1932), a pitcher from
Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
in New York, became famous for his curve ball and later earned fame as a prolific American poet. In 1885,
''St. Nicholas'', a children's magazine, featured a story entitled, "How Science Won the Game". It told of how a boy pitcher mastered the curveball to defeat the opposing batters.
The ''
New York Clipper
The ''New York Clipper'', also known as ''The Clipper'', was a weekly entertainment newspaper published in New York City from 1853 to 1924. It covered many topics, including circuses, dance, music, the outdoors, sports, and theatre. It had a ...
'' reported, of a September 26, 1863, game at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
(then the College of New Jersey), that F. P. Henry's "slow pitching with a great twist to the ball achieved a victory over fast pitching." By 1866, many Princeton players were pitching and hitting "curved balls".
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
President
Charles Eliot was among those opposed to the curve, claiming it was a dishonest practice unworthy of Harvard students. At an athletics conference at Yale University in 1884 a speaker (thought to be from Harvard, likely Prof. Charles Eliot Norton, a cousin of the Harvard President) was reported to have stated: "For the pitcher, instead of delivering the ball to the batter in an honest, straightforward way, that the latter may exert his strength to the best advantage in knocking it, now uses every effort to deceive him by curving—I think that is the word—the ball. And this is looked upon as the last triumph of athletic science and skill. I tell you it is time to call halt! when the boasted progress in athletics is in the direction of fraud and deceit."
In the past, major league pitchers
Tommy Bridges
Thomas Jefferson Davis Bridges (December 28, 1906 – April 19, 1968) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers from 1930 to 1946. During the 1930s, he used an outstanding cu ...
,
Bob Feller,
Virgil Trucks
Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks (April 26, 1917 – March 23, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees between 1941 and 1958. He batted ...
,
Herb Score
Herbert Jude Score (June 7, 1933 – November 11, 2008) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and announcer. Score pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1955 through 1959 and the Chicago White Sox from 1960 through 1962. He was ...
,
Camilo Pascual
Camilo Alberto Pascual Lus (born January 20, 1934) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During an 18-year baseball career (1954–71), he played for the original modern Washington Senators franchise (which became the Mi ...
and
Sandy Koufax
Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...
were regarded as having outstanding curveballs.
See also
*
Swing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.
The aim of swing bowling is to cause the ball to move in the ai ...
, a similar concept in cricket
References
External links
Mechanics of a breaking ball
{{Baseball
Baseball pitches
ja:球種 (野球)