How To Throw Trevor Bauer's Slider
TLDRIn this instructional video, the speaker shares insights on mastering the slider pitch in baseball. He explains the science behind the ball's movement, emphasizing the importance of grip, wrist position, and finger placement. The video covers the mechanics of throwing a slider, including the release point and the spin axis, and offers strategies for using the pitch effectively in games. The speaker's goal is to help viewers improve their pitching skills and reduce injury risk.
Takeaways
- 🎯 Understanding Pitch Design: Pitch design is about controlling how the baseball moves, and it's crucial to know why a ball moves in the first place.
- 🏐 The Role of Spin: The spin applied to the ball during pitching determines its trajectory, with different types of spin resulting in various movements.
- 🤚 Gyroscopic Spin: A ball spinning with gyro spin (like a football) will move straight without rising, falling, or moving side to side due to the spin.
- 🔄 Spin Quadrants: The direction of the ball's spin can be mapped onto a graph with quadrants representing lift and movement (left, right, up, down) based on the spin direction.
- 🤲 Slider Grip: The slider pitch requires a two-seam grip with a loose hold, tucking the thumb underneath for control and release.
- 👊 Throwing Motion: A karate chopping motion with a stiff wrist is recommended for throwing a slider, ensuring a locked wrist position for accurate spin.
- 📈 Movement Explanation: The slider's movement is a combination of side spin, front spin, and gyroscopic action, which can be visualized from different perspectives (pitcher's view, side view, top view).
- 🏈 Tunnel and Freeze: The slider can be used as a tunnel pitch to deceive the batter with similarity to a fastball or as a freeze pitch to make the batter chase a ball out of the zone.
- 🚀 Outlier Pitch: The slider is an outlier pitch due to its unique movement, making it difficult for batters to hit even if it's not thrown perfectly.
- 🔐 Injury Prevention: To prevent injury, maintain a stiff wrist and proper grip to protect the elbow while throwing the slider.
- 📹 Learning and Application: The video aims to teach the safe and effective way to throw a slider, encouraging practice and application of the learned techniques.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video?
-The main topic of the video is teaching how to throw a slider, a type of baseball pitch, effectively.
What is pitch design according to the video?
-Pitch design is the concept of understanding how to make the baseball move in a desired manner through the application of specific spin and force.
How does the video explain the movement of a baseball based on its spin?
-The video uses a graph to illustrate that the movement of a baseball is determined by the direction of its spin. For example, lift and rightward movement correspond to the top right quadrant of the graph, while drop and leftward movement correspond to the bottom left quadrant.
What is gyrospin and how does it affect the movement of the ball?
-Gyrospin, also known as bullet spin, is when the ball spins around its vertical axis, similar to a perfectly thrown football spiral. This type of spin produces no movement due to spin, meaning the ball will move dead straight, not rising, falling, or moving side to side.
How does the grip affect the slider pitch?
-The grip for a slider involves holding the ball directly on the two seams with the pointer and middle finger, while the thumb is tucked underneath. This grip allows for a loose hold on the ball, which is essential for the pitch's effectiveness.
What are the four keys to throwing a slider according to the video?
-The four keys to throwing a slider are maintaining a loose grip, having a stiff wrist, pushing the side of the ball forward during release, and driving the pointer finger directly to the plate.
Why is a loose grip important for throwing a slider?
-A loose grip is important for throwing a slider because it allows the ball to come out of the hand at the right time. Too much tension can delay the release, affecting the pitch's movement and making it less effective.
How does the video describe the movement of the slider pitch?
-The slider pitch is described as having a lot of movement towards the pitcher's glove side, a little bit of downward movement, and quite a bit of gyroscopic action. The pitch starts off to the right of a fastball and ends up in the strike zone with a significant sweep to the left.
What are the two primary ways to use the slider pitch according to the video?
-The slider pitch can be used as a tunnel pitch with a fastball, aiming for strikes, or as a freeze pitch, where the pitch looks like a strike but ends up as a ball to entice the batter to swing.
What is the significance of the slider pitch being an outlier?
-The slider being an outlier means it moves differently from most other pitches, with a unique and significant sweep. This makes it difficult for batters to hit, even if it's not thrown perfectly for a strike, as it generates swings and often results in poor contact.
Outlines
🏐 Introduction to Pitch Design
The video begins with an introduction to pitch design, a concept the speaker has been developing since 2009. The speaker explains that pitch design is about controlling how a baseball moves, and to understand this, one must first understand why a ball moves the way it does. The speaker uses a visual aid of a baseball with axis lines to demonstrate how different types of spin affect the ball's trajectory. The video is sponsored by trevorbower.com, where viewers can purchase merchandise and support the channel.
🎾 Understanding Spin and Pitch Movement
The speaker delves deeper into the science behind pitch movement, explaining the effects of gyro spin, backspin, front spin, side spin, and the combination of these spins on the ball's trajectory. The speaker uses a graph to illustrate how the ball's movement is affected by the direction of the spin, with examples such as a left-handed fastball, a right-handed curveball, and a lefty curveball. The concept of 100% spin in different directions is introduced to help viewers understand the absolutes of spin before mixing them.
🥌 The Slider: Grip and Throwing Technique
The speaker transitions to discussing the slider pitch, starting with the grip. A two-seam grip is used, with the thumb tucked under for a loose hold. The speaker emphasizes the importance of a loose grip and a stiff wrist for throwing the slider. The throwing motion involves a karate-chopping motion with a locked wrist, pushing the side of the ball forward, and driving the pointer finger towards the plate. The speaker explains the purpose of each element in the grip and throwing motion, and how it contributes to the slider's unique movement.
🏌️♂️ Analyzing the Slider's Movement and Use
The speaker analyzes the slider's movement, explaining its sidespin to the left, frontspin, and gyroscopic action. The movement is visualized from the pitcher's view, side view, and top view, highlighting the ball's tilt and axis. The speaker then discusses how to use the slider effectively in games, either as a tunnel pitch with a fastball for strikes or as a freeze pitch to deceive the batter into swinging at a ball that looks like a strike but ends up as a ball, or vice versa.
🤾♂️ Conclusion and Tips on Using the Slider
In the conclusion, the speaker reiterates the slider's effectiveness as an outlier pitch due to its unique movement. The speaker advises throwing the slider close to the zone to encourage swings, even if it's not perfectly placed, as the pitch's movement makes it difficult to hit. The speaker also reminds viewers to throw the slider safely to avoid injury, with a stiff wrist and proper technique. The video ends with an invitation for viewers to share their own slider pitches and to look forward to the next video in the series.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Pitch Design
💡Gyro Spin
💡Curveball
💡Slider
💡Spin Axis
💡Tunnel Pitch
💡Freeze Pitch
💡Backspin
💡Loose Grip
💡Karate Chopping Motion
💡Pointer Finger
Highlights
The video is sponsored by trevorbower.com and features a tutorial on throwing a slider pitch in baseball.
The concept of pitch design was introduced to the world in 2013 and has been developed since 2009-2010.
Understanding the movement of a baseball is crucial to mastering pitch design, which involves how the ball moves as desired.
The forces created by the spin of the ball are discussed, with a focus on how to ignore gravity temporarily for analysis.
A graph is used to illustrate how different types of spin (gyro, backspin, sidespin) affect the ball's movement.
Gyro spin, similar to a perfectly thrown football spiral, results in no movement due to spin.
The direction of the ball's front spin is critical in determining the type of movement produced.
Mixing different types of spin can produce a variety of movements, such as a combination of top spin and side spin.
The grip for throwing a slider is explained, emphasizing a two-seam grip with a relaxed hold.
Keys to throwing the slider pitch include a loose grip, a karate chopping motion, and a stiff wrist.
The slider pitch involves pushing the side of the ball forward to create side spin.
The importance of the pointer finger in the release of the slider pitch is highlighted, as it affects the ball's movement.
A loose grip is preferred for the slider to ensure the ball comes out of the hand at the right time.
The movement of the slider is analyzed from the pitcher's view, showing its side spin and gyroscopic action.
The slider pitch can be used effectively as a tunnel pitch for strikes or as a freeze pitch to deceive the batter.
The slider pitch is considered an outlier due to its unique movement compared to other sliders.
Throwing the slider with the correct spin axis allows for it to be thrown in the zone without being too precise, making it difficult to hit.
The video provides a safe method for throwing the slider to avoid injury, emphasizing the protection of the elbow.
Transcripts
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)
Thanks for rating: