If the delivery of a pitcher is not sound mechanically, the desired break and movement are not going to be present on a consistent basis. Good pitches result from good deliveries. However, there are a few basic rules, which should be adhered to in regard to grips and throwing different types of pitches.

There are essentially four kinds of pitches: the fastball, the changeup, breaking balls and the knuckle ball. Each pitch has different advantages and disadvantages, and some are harder to throw than others.

Absolutely, the most important pitch to master is the fastball. Everything in regard to a pitcher's success or failure directly stems from his ability to locate a fastball for a strike. There are three basic "ingredients" of a fastball (listed in order of importance): = location, movement, and velocity. Many coaches' opinions may differ from these in this area, but that is what makes this game fun! There are two basic fastball grips:

The fastball counts on speed to overpower the batters. The hand is typically held in one of two ways: the twoseam and fourseam fastball. The ball is thrown directly towards the plate, and is allowed to roll off of the fingers as they are snapped down on release—putting a straight backspin on the ball as it travels towards the plate. Fastballs typically do not have a lot of movement, and go directly from the release to the plate. This is the fastest pitch, as it requires the least amount of control on the spin of the ball. Some pitchers are able to propel their fastballs over 100 miles per hour. This is the easiest pitch to learn, but requires a certain amount of natural ability to able to pitch over 90 miles per hour. There are two typical ways to hold a fastball, known as twoseam and fourseam (named for the number of seams that will be in the direction of primary spin).

2 Seam Fastball
In both pitches, two fingers and the thumb provide the primary grip. The fingers are flicked down on release giving backspin to the ball.

4 Seam Fastball
In the fourseam, four seams catch the air as the ball rotates, and the ball tends to float due to the lift generated by the four seams. For the twoseam, with only two seams catching air, the ball tends to sink.

The changeup is the ultimate attempt to fool the batter. The pitch is thrown identically to a fastball, but thrown 10-15 miles per hour (16-24 kph) slower. The way this is done is by holding the ball closer to the palm of the hand and placing all five fingers on the ball with an equal grip. The lack of tight grip on the finger tips prevents the fingers from imparting that last little bit of speed as they snap down on the release of the pitch. The result is a pitch that has the same arm motion as a fastball, but one which will float into the plate at a much slower rate of speed. The idea is to fool the batter into believing that a fastball has been thrown, and have the batter swing before the pitch gets to the plate. Masters of the changeup use it effectively to make their fastball seem faster and to fool batters into waving their bat at the pitch.

There are a number of breaking ball pitches. Most pitchers manage to master two or three. The forkball, and split seam fastball are similar pitches to the fastball in how the ball is held, but rely on the slippage of the ball through the first two fingers to put some irregular spin on the pitch. The fingers are placed wide apart of the seams, and the pitch is thrown like a twoseam fastball. This pitch is typically only slightly slower than the fastball, but can move left, right or down depending on how it spins off and through the fingers. The splitseam fastball is a slower version of the fastball thrown with the two fingers spread apart, but not as wide apart as the forkball. Because the flick of the fingers is not as effective as the fastball, the pitch is slightly slower and tends to move left or right a little more than a conventional twoseam fastball.

The curve ball is the most well known breaking ball. Two fingers are held along an outside seam of the ball, and the wrist is flicked down and over the ball (towards the outside of the ball). This spin causes the ball to dive down as it moves towards the plate as the spin is more sideways and no lift is created by interference of the seams as the ball passes through the air. The curve ball is typically 10-20 miles per hour slower than the fastball.

The slider is similar to the curveball, but is typically pitched with the arm out slightly wider and lower than the curve ball, with the grip higher up on the seams. This puts some sideways spin on the ball, which will cause it to break from the pitching hand down and towards the opposite side of the plate (right to left looking at the plate for a right handed pitcher).

The screwball is the most difficult breaking ball to pitch, as it goes against the natural arm motion of the pitch. For this pitch, two fingers are held along the inside seams of the ball, and the wrist is flipped down and inside the ball as it is released. This spin will cause the screwball to move away from the pitcher (right to farther right for a right handed pitcher). This pitch puts a lot of strain on the elbow of the pitcher and is extremely difficult to throw consistently.

The final type of pitch is the knuckle ball. The fingertips are pushed into the ball so that the knuckles grip the ball very tightly. When the ball is released, the fingers are popped out, in the effort to propel the ball towards the plate without any spin. This pitch relies on the natural air currents to push on the seams of the ball as it floats towards the plate without any spin. This can cause the ball to do virtually anything in terms of direction of movement. The knuckle ball is an extremely slow pitch, but can be very effective due to its lack of predictability. Batters have a very hard time hitting this pitch, but it is extremely hard to control. There are only a few successful knuckleball pitchers playing professionally today.