12 6 deuce

[wilbur775]

ne one have any suggestions on how to make my curve ball drop straight down instead of a little to the side?

[YankeesCatcher]

Sorry bro, I'm a catcher, not a pitcher.

I would say just say throw Fastball-Changeup. Best combo in baseball.

[mobile eggroll]

ok for this it might get a lil tricky, but i think the only thing you need to worry about is grip and form. firstly form, do you throw over the top, 3 quarters, or sidearm? the best way to throw the 12-6 is over the top as it creates less rooom for error so i'll go with that method. so assuming your throwing over the top and you grip your curveball along the seams try this: take the ball back normally but as you come over the top turn your wrist so as it passes your head the fingers that gripping the ball are pointed at your head. and then as it slips out of your hand it should start to spin up an down. note this might have a tendency to be more of a looping curveball but with a little practice it can be effective. if this doesn't work post back on here an i'll try an give you some more techniques.

[bbjunkie]

I suspect that the reason yours breaks a little one way or the other is that you're throwing from a 3/4 position. As Mobile suggested, just try over the top throwing first.

[blugold3]

Here is a little drill that I learned from Todd Oakes, the pitching coach at the University of Minnesota. Take a tennis ball can filled with tennis balls and simply grip it by the top 1/3 of the can, like you would on a baseball. Throw it using your wrist snap as you would a curveball. The tenniscan naturally forces your hand to throw over the top. You should work on getting an "over the top" or end over end rotation out of the tennis can. Just throw 25%, you don't and SHOULDN'T throw this full speed as it could really mess you up simply throwing a can instead of a ball. Hope it works well for you.

[Mannyortiz06]

grip the ball noramally and when releasing , assuming you are either 3/4 or over the top put your elbow at a 90degree angle to the rest of your arm and just roll yor hand over the ball , i do tis and have a really effective 12-6 curve , last game it was literally going from the batters eyes to their shins , with good bite

[Ursa Major]

Steve Ellis' excellent "The Complete Pitcher" website has a good description of what he calls a 'beginner's curveball' with a 12 to 6 drop. Here's a picture of the grip:

It's also been called a "gunslinger's curve" because you hold your hand like a little kid pretending to shoot bad guys.

The whole article about pitching grips and a complete description of this curve is available here:
http://www.thecompletepitcher.com/pitching_grips.htm