| The split-finger fastball (or "splitter") is a tougher pitch to throw because you need big hands for it to work properly. The splitter should be thrown with the same exact delivery and arm motion as the other two fastballs, but the grip should be changed so that the index and middle fingers are spread out wider apart and both fingers rest outside of the seam. The split-finger grip has the effect of slowing down the ball and reducing the amount of backspin so that the ball will seem to suddenly dive at the last minute, leading to a lot of balls in the dirt and (hopefully) a lot of swings and misses. A good splitter starts out looking like a fastball, but has considerably less velocity and has a nasty sinking movement at the end. A lot of pitchers use the splitter as their "off-speed" pitch. |
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