In baseball, 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). A breaking ball is not a specific pitch by that name, but is any pitch that "breaks", such as a curveball, slider, or screwball. A pitcher who primarily uses breaking ball pitches is often referred to as a junkballer.
A common grip of a slider
A breaking ball is more difficult than a straight pitch for a catcher 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.[1] 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, specifically, a "hanging" curve or even more specifically a "cement mixer" if it is a "hanging" slider that just spins. 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.
Don Mattingly 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.[2]
Generally the Magnus effect 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 and therefore a greater differential of pressure between the upper and lower zones. The effect of gravity 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 effects) during the 60 feet 6 inches it travels to home plate.
On the other hand, a curveball, thrown with topspin, 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.
HistoryEdit
Baseball lore has it that the curveball was invented in the early 1870s by Candy Cummings (it is debatable). An early demonstration of the "skewball" or curveball occurred at the Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn in August 1870 by Fred Goldsmith. In 1869, a reporter for the New York Clipper described Phonney Martin 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.[3] In 1876, the first known collegiate baseball player to perfect the curveball was Clarence Emir Allen of Western Reserve College, now known as Case Western Reserve University, where he never lost a game.[4] Both Allen and his teammate John P. Barden became famous for employing the curve in the late 1870s.[5] In the early 1880s, Clinton Scollard (1860–1932), a pitcher from Hamilton College in New York, became famous for his curve ball and later earned fame as a prolific American poet.[6] 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.[7]
The New York Clipper reported, of a September 26, 1863, game at Princeton University (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".[8]
Harvard President Charles Eliot was among those opposed to the curve, claiming it was a dishonest practice unworthy of Harvard students.[9][10] 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[11]) 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."[12]
^. efastball.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
^Mattingly, Don; Rosenthal, Jim (2014). Don Mattingly's Hitting Is Simple: The ABC's of Batting 300. St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 60–63. ISBN9781466867758.
^. baseballlibrary.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
^Egan, James M. Jr. (May 21, 2008). Base Ball on the Western Reserve: The Early Game in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, Year by Year and Town by Town, 1865-1900. McFarland. ISBN9780786430673. Retrieved May 9, 2018 – via Google Books.
^"The Kent Stater 28 April 1927 — Kent State University". dks.library.kent.edu. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
^. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
^"St. Nicholas". Scribner & Company. May 9, 1885. Retrieved May 9, 2018 – via Google Books.
^Presbrey, Frank; Moffatt, James Hugh (May 9, 2018). "Athletics at Princeton: A History". Frank Presbrey Company. Retrieved May 9, 2018 – via Google Books.
^"A look inside: Eliot House". Harvard Gazette. April 19, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
^Kiara F. Z. Barrow (November 7, 2013). "Throwback Thursday". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
^Herschberger, Richard. "With a Deliberate Attempt to Deceive". SABR - Society for American Baseball Research. Baseball Research Journal, Spring 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
^"Give the Batsman a Chance". New York Clipper - cited in the Herschberger article cited above. No. Vol. XXXI No. 44, Column 3. New York Clipper. January 19, 1884. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
External linksEdit
Mechanics of a breaking ball
October 21, 2023
breaking, ball, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, april, 2015. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Breaking ball news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message In baseball 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 A breaking ball is not a specific pitch by that name but is any pitch that breaks such as a curveball slider or screwball A pitcher who primarily uses breaking ball pitches is often referred to as a junkballer A common grip of a sliderA breaking ball is more difficult than a straight pitch for a catcher 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 1 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 specifically a hanging curve or even more specifically a cement mixer if it is a hanging slider that just spins 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 Don Mattingly 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 2 Contents 1 Physics 2 History 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksPhysics EditGenerally the Magnus effect 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 and therefore a greater differential of pressure between the upper and lower zones The effect of gravity 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 effects during the 60 feet 6 inches it travels to home plate On the other hand a curveball thrown with topspin 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 EditBaseball lore has it that the curveball was invented in the early 1870s by Candy Cummings it is debatable An early demonstration of the skewball or curveball occurred at the Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn in August 1870 by Fred Goldsmith In 1869 a reporter for the New York Clipper described Phonney Martin 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 3 In 1876 the first known collegiate baseball player to perfect the curveball was Clarence Emir Allen of Western Reserve College now known as Case Western Reserve University where he never lost a game 4 Both Allen and his teammate John P Barden became famous for employing the curve in the late 1870s 5 In the early 1880s Clinton Scollard 1860 1932 a pitcher from Hamilton College in New York became famous for his curve ball and later earned fame as a prolific American poet 6 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 7 The New York Clipper reported of a September 26 1863 game at Princeton University 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 8 Harvard President Charles Eliot was among those opposed to the curve claiming it was a dishonest practice unworthy of Harvard students 9 10 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 11 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 12 In the past major league pitchers Tommy Bridges Bob Feller Virgil Trucks Herb Score Camilo Pascual and Sandy Koufax were regarded as having outstanding curveballs See also Edit nbsp Baseball portalSwing bowling a similar concept in cricketReferences Edit How to Grip a Curve Ball efastball com Archived from the original on July 24 2017 Retrieved April 21 2018 Mattingly Don Rosenthal Jim 2014 Don Mattingly s Hitting Is Simple The ABC s of Batting 300 St Martin s Griffin pp 60 63 ISBN 9781466867758 Charlton s Baseball Chronology 1869 baseballlibrary com Archived from the original on December 11 2008 Retrieved June 6 2008 Egan James M Jr May 21 2008 Base Ball on the Western Reserve The Early Game in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio Year by Year and Town by Town 1865 1900 McFarland ISBN 9780786430673 Retrieved May 9 2018 via Google Books The Kent Stater 28 April 1927 Kent State University dks library kent edu Retrieved May 9 2018 Clinton Scollard Archived from the original on February 24 2014 Retrieved March 23 2013 St Nicholas Scribner amp Company May 9 1885 Retrieved May 9 2018 via Google Books Presbrey Frank Moffatt James Hugh May 9 2018 Athletics at Princeton A History Frank Presbrey Company Retrieved May 9 2018 via Google Books A look inside Eliot House Harvard Gazette April 19 2012 Retrieved October 14 2015 Kiara F Z Barrow November 7 2013 Throwback Thursday Harvard Crimson Retrieved May 9 2018 Herschberger Richard With a Deliberate Attempt to Deceive SABR Society for American Baseball Research Baseball Research Journal Spring 2017 Retrieved March 25 2020 Give the Batsman a Chance New York Clipper cited in the Herschberger article cited above No Vol XXXI No 44 Column 3 New York Clipper January 19 1884 Retrieved March 25 2020 External links EditMechanics of a breaking ball Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Breaking ball amp oldid 1172391648, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
