Curveball

“ Almost all professional pitchers now use the overhand delivery and pitch only a fast, straight ball and a curve. The fast ball, on account of its being thrown overhand and the twist thereby given, "jumps" in the air, that is, it rises slightly, while the curve, pitched with the same motion, goes outward and downward. The curve will necessarily be slower than the straight ball, and this will give all the variation in speed needed to unsettle the batter's "eye" and confuse him in "timing" the ball. ”

“ Try to coax him with a ball or two just inside the plate. If he refuses to “bite,” then, of course, you’ll have to put it over. As you improve in your work, you can begin to practice curves.
Curve pitching cannot be taught by book or other directions. It must be learned by actual practice and experience. The principles of making a ball curve, however, may be explained. Let the young aspirant grasp the ball firmly in his hand, giving the pressure with his forefinger and middle finger. ”

“ If it rotates from the north, through the east to the south, which is the direction a right hand pitcher would most easily give it, it would curve to the left, and vice versa. If any one believes that the cause assigned is inadequate to produce the observed effect, let him imagine experiment No. 3 to be performed in a dense medium—water for example, and I think he will be convinced that a ball can be curved, but if he still doubts it, let him suppose the ball to be a croquet ball driven full of long, projecting spikes, and sent rapidly through the water, rotating as it goes. ”

“ Many people, including prominent scientists, were for a long time loth to believe that a ball could be curved in the air, but they were soon satisfied by practical tests, publicly made, as to the truth of the matter.
With the doing away with the restrictions that governed the methods of the pitcher's delivery of the ball and the introduction of the curve the running up of large scores in the game became an impossibility, and the batsman was placed at a decided disadvantage. ”

“ When a brainy man is at the bat, he is always trying to figure out what to expect. If he knows, then his chances of getting a hit are greatly increased. For instance, if a batter has two balls and two strikes on him, he naturally concludes that the pitcher will throw him a curve ball, and prepares for it. [Pg 14] Big League ball-players recognize only two kinds of pitched balls—the curve and the straight one.
When a catcher in the Big League signals for a curved ball, he means a drop, and, after handling a certain pitcher for a time, he gets to know just how much the ball is going to curve. ”

“ First.—The slowly delivered ball describes a curved line in the air both before it pitches, and afterwards to the bat; and balls coming in a curved line are far more difficult to play accurately than those which come quick and straight from the pitch. If the batsman properly judged the fast ball, by simply putting his bat straight forward he would always meet and stop it. It is not quite so with the slower ball. The ball, coming on to the ground in a curve, will leave it in a curve, and may consequently go over the shoulder of the bat. ”

“ Should the ice be slow, greater force is given to the stone by a longer swing, and should the ice be fast the swing is shortened. But in no case, if the ice is playable on at all, should the impetus be derived from a muscular effort of the arm as in throwing; but as in golf, the swing of the arm and body together give the stone its impetus. And throughout the swing the eyes of the curler must never leave the directing besom of his skip. It is as fatal to look away from that as it is to take the eye off the ball at golf. ”

“ A high one was refused and was judged a ball, a curve that just didn’t cut the outer corner went as another ball. Gordon signaled for a drop and the batter bit at it and had one strike against him. Then another drop failed to please the umpire and Dud was in the hole. Gordon called for a high one over the plate and Dud tried to put it there. But he didn’t. The ball went wide and Dud saw with dismay the batsman trotting to first and heard the triumphant yelps of the enemy. Another pinch hitter was up and Gordon, a little anxious of countenance now, was asking for a curve ball. ”

“ I have seen persons, and see them yet, who firmly maintain that a ball cannot be curved, even when they have ocular demonstration of the fact. But that has nothing to do with what I have to say. I have studied the diagram of my anonymous friend, and am convinced that he is exactly wrong. With the following diagrams I shall show which way a ball curves with a given rotation, and give my theory of the curve:
Suppose, as in the letter published, the ball moves one hundred feet per second, and revolves so that the equator moves around at the same rate. ”

“ In all deliveries imparting twist up to and including “ordinary” strength of stroke, the wrist only is to be used. Every blow delivered with the cue converges to the centre of motion at e in the cue-ball (as shown in arrow c, c,) , and every grain of weight in the ball is imparted through the 35cue to the hand; therefore with the expert the weight and density of the ball is calculated to a nicety at each delivery, whether it be at centre or at 5⁄8 right or left, else all strengths could not be so cleverly estimated in gathering and holding the balls for a long run. ”

“ Obeying Ben, he still avoided “hooks,” making up his mind to leave such things quite alone until he was able to put the straight ones where he wanted them. Plenty of pitchers will tell you that it is harder to pitch a straight ball than a curve, and it’s very nearly true. It is, in fact, entirely true in the case of a young pitcher who has started out pitching curves to the practical exclusion of straight balls. ”

“ In hitting at a high ball the bat should be swung overhand, in an almost perpendicular plane, and so, also, for a low ball, the batter should stand erect and cut underhand. If the bat is swung in a horizontal plane the least miscalculation in the height of the ball will be fatal. If it strikes above or below the centre line of the bat, it will be driven either up into the air or down to the ground. ”

“ If it is, the ball must move in a straight line, but as it curves toward the side D, we must conclude that it is not, and that the friction of the air tends more to hinder than to help the ball to curve. I really believe that if it could be tried, a person could make a ball curve in a vacuum more easily than we can make it curve in the air. ”

“ This “handle” gives a rotatory motion to the stone, so that as it is travelling up the ice it is also slowly revolving on its own axis, either from right to left or left to right, and this rotation imparts to it, as its initial velocity diminishes and its pace slows down, a curling movement, in the manner of a break from the off or a break from the leg at cricket, or, if you will, a swerve in the air, or, as in golf, of a pull or a slice. ”

“ Suppose a pitcher should throw a ball, say to the east, giving it a rotation whose axis should correspond with the northern and southern horizons. The air in front being more dense than in the rear, of course the friction of the rotating ball will be greatest on the front side, and will cause it to deviate, not to the right nor left, but slightly up or down, depending in which way the ball rotates. ”

“ Remember, too, that it is to be a swing and not a hit, that the club head should be treated as though it were a bit of lead attached to a string, and consequently dependent for its effectiveness on speed and not on weight. Obviously, if the circle in which it swings is not perfect, if at any point the string is suddenly lengthened or shortened, the ball will either be missed altogether or the force will be imperfectly applied, resulting in a loss of power. Take a piece of lead and a bit of string, and try the experiment for yourself. ”

“ A batter who steps away from the plate, should be worked on the outside corner; one who steps in, on the inside corner; one who makes a long, vicious swing at the ball, will be easily deceived by a slow ball, much more readily than one who "snaps" or hits with a short, quick stroke; one who strides long must necessarily stoop or crouch, and is in bad form to hit a high ball ”

“ Just in the same way the curler has to follow through, and though no doubt both curler and golfer can, theoretically, check their swing the moment after the stone and the ball have started, they would be most ill-advised to attempt to do so, since they run a grave risk of checking their swings before the stone or the ball have gone, and thus giving to their shot only a fraction of the force of the swing. ”

“ Stoddard says: 'It is not only theoretically but practically impossible for any such impetus to be conveyed to a moving body as would be required to perform the action supposed, by inexperienced persons, to control the movement of what is termed a curved ball; for, as is well known, the motion of any body such as the ball is in the direction of the propelling force and that being direct, and the ball itself having no volition or power to alter its own course, how can such a result occur? ”

“ Diagram 1.—Cue-ball 5⁄8 right, object-ball full centre; stroke, “slow.” The excessive twist upon cue-ball causes the latter to curve to the left whilst hitting the object-ball at the line of a full ball. The twist of the cue-ball gives a slight opposite twist to the object-ball, which in its turn communicates the motion in a less degree to the carom-ball, causing the latter to deflect from its natural course on leaving the cushion at a, meeting cue-ball at b, the object-ball being carried to one side by the excessive twist of cue-ball and the “kiss” from carom-ball. ”

“ If eight or more of these be put in a row, all touching each other, and a single ball be placed about an inch or so away from the others in a straight line with them, then when the single ball is struck with a cue against the other eight, the motion of the single ball is transmitted by each one of the eight successively with such rapidity, that the end ball would be set in motion in a quicker time than a single ball would take to reach the end ball, if it had been free to move along without encountering any opposition. ”

“ A large flat field or common, the larger the better, is selected for the performance. Two large blocks of stone are placed about fifteen or twenty feet apart toward either end of the field. One pair of these stones forms the goal of one party, and the other pair that of their opponents. They are about four hundred yards distant from each other, and are generally whitewashed, that they may the more easily catch the attention of the players. A ball, somewhat larger than a cricket-ball, but pretty much of the same nature, is produced by each party, which will be more fully explained by-and-bye. ”

“ Lastly, the last diagram explains that curvilinear bowling (the effect of a moderate pace with a spin) gives the batsman a shorter sight of the rise than is possible with the straighter lines of swift bowling. A man has nearly as much time to make up his mind and prepare for Wisden as for Clarke; because, he can judge Wisden's ball much sooner, and, though the rise is faster, the ball has farther to come in. ”

“ The natural spin on every ball which is bowled is from left to right—i.e. the off break. Even when a fielder throws in a ball from a distance it almost invariably has this spin on it. If you watch the smallest boy in the street throwing a stone, you will find, nine times out of ten, the stone has acquired this spin. It is then no wonder that almost every right-handed bowler relies upon this twist as his principal artifice. ”

“ If you cut at a fast ball, the height of its rise is nearly uniform, and its course a straight line: so, most men like very fast bowling, because, if the hand is quick enough, the judgment is not easily deceived, for the ball moves nearly in straight lines. But, in cutting or in crossing a slow ball, the height of the rise varies enough to produce a mistake while the bat is descending on the ball.
Once more, in playing at a ball after its rise, a safe and forcible hit can only be made in two ways. You must either meet the ball with full and straight bat, or cut horizontally across it. ”

“ Now although style cannot drive a ball, there is still a right and a wrong way of going at the problem, and the first thing is to clearly understand the conditions of that problem. Let the player imagine himself at the centre of a circle, the radius of which is the length of his arms plus the club shaft, and upon whose circumference is resting the ball that is to be swept away. ”

“ When the ball has to be a fast one, the power necessary to propel the ball at the required pace prevents so much of the power of fingers, &c, being expended on spin. A slow ball always takes the spin, after leaving the ground, to a greater extent than a fast one, because it is longer on the ground when it pitches, and the spinning has more time to take effect on the turf. ”

“ It must be remembered that in this curve the spin is assisted by gravity—the ball is falling much of the time as it is being edged away—and even then it will be apparent that it is easy to get much greater spin in the slice than it is in the wind-cheater, for the simple reason that in the slice one has an unrestricted cut across the ball, whereas one has not this opportunity with the wind-cheater, for one hits the ground immediately one passes the ball. ”