Catchers Throwing Grip ?

[nervous]

2 scenarios, 1 son has huge hands, the other has small hands. I understand the 4 seam grip. Should we have some space between the ball and the hand ? My hands are small as well and I have limited space.

[Jake Patterson]

2 scenarios, 1 son has huge hands, the other has small hands. I understand the 4 seam grip. Should we have some space between the ball and the hand ? My hands are small as well and I have limited space.

Space where? Between the hand and ball or space between the fingers.... S/B yes to both..

[Chris O'Leary]

2 scenarios, 1 son has huge hands, the other has small hands. I understand the 4 seam grip. Should we have some space between the ball and the hand ? My hands are small as well and I have limited space.

Yes. Too much skin on the ball will slow it down.

Putting more skin on the ball is the basic way that pitchers throw a change-up.

[Jesse]

When I want to throw hard, I hold the ball very lightly with only my fingertips on the seams. The ball really jumps out of my hand and I get more snap from my wrist that way. Anywhere your skin is touching the ball you're creating friction which must be overcome upon release. It doesn't seem like it would make that much difference but it does.

Not sure how this relates to a catcher's grip but I would assume the same general principles apply. You may want to have your sons experiment with a looser grip and see if it helps.

[nervous]

Thanks for the input. Adjustments made today and throwing was very good.

[onbaseball]

Hold the ball as loosely as possible across the seam, with the fingertips and away from the palm. Spreading the forefinger and middle finger away from each other will help with control; the best idea is to spread them and adjust the middle finger so that both fingertips are lined up with each other. In other words, you should be able to draw a straight line across the tips. This grip is difficult but possible if you hold a ball all the time, such as when you're watching TV.

The thumb should be directly underneath the ball and in between the index and middle finger.

A good drill for the grip is to place a bucket against a wall, and toss the ball from one knee about 15 feet away. The goal is to throw the ball at the wall and bank it straight into the bucket (as if you were playing basketball). Concentration is on getting comfortable with the grip described above, and getting a perfect backspin on the ball. To make it an even more productive drill, draw a straight line around the ball, perpendicular to and splitting the widest seams, with a black magic marker. Grip the ball so that the line is between the index and middle finger; when you release the ball you can get a very good idea of how close to a perfect spin you're getting.