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His pitching velocity is decent but not dominating. He pitched 2 innings in a wooden bat league and 2 batters broke their bats. Does a 'heavy ball' break bats?

2006-09-27 07:10:05 · 10 answers · asked by Big Brother 3 in Sports Baseball

Is there a difference between throwing hard and throwing fast? Doesn't speed determine hardness?

2006-09-27 07:27:59 · update #1

10 answers

Heavy ball means it has a heavy sinking motion and its hard for hitters to lift it. It appears as if they cant hit the pitch in the air because the ball is heavy....pitchers like Derek Lowe and Chin Ming Wang have heavy sinkers, and that is why they are always in the league leaders in ground outs induced.

Throwing hard- John Rocker..he winds up and looks like he is trying to throw as hard as he can

Throwin fast- Mariano Rivera..he is skinny and throws with an easy motion, but his fastball is just as fast as john rockers.

2006-09-27 08:12:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2 1

having a "Heavy Ball" means that your son pitches tends to sink naturally and more than most pitchers. It has nothing to do with batters having touble "lifting the ball" or breaking bats. Usually Sinkerball pitchers tend not to have a dominating fast ball (Nolan Ryan Type) but the motion of the ball looks like a fastball except for the late sinking motion which often catches most hitter off guard which is why they usually grounds out.

The Reason why your son breaks alot of bats could be alot of reasons none of which is becaue of the physics of having a "Heavy ball" . Bad wood would be one of the reason since companies like Louisville Slugger keeps the best bats for the Major Leagues.
(2) If the bat is not conditioned right and is dry it would break easier just as any other wood.
(3) throwing inside or the batter having trouble picking up the ball causing him to hit it on the handle could be another reason since it is the thinest part of the bat and therfore the easiest to break.

However breaking 2 bats in 2 innings is pretty inpressive Good Wood or not.

2006-09-29 13:41:25 · answer #2 · answered by football298 2 · 1 0

Throwing what people call a Heavy Ball basically means that the pitcher throws a lot of ground balls. It's a term used to describe a pitcher who batters cannot LIFT the ball off of well.

It's not a bad thing by any means...you cannot teach it either. It's something that just happens. Chien-Ming Wang of the Yankees throws a Heavy ball. 90% of his outs are ground balls. His ball stays down in the zone, and hitters just beat the ball into the ground.

Pitchers also break bats with this kind of pitch...but more likely, it is just bad wood. It's not how hard a pitch is thrown, but where on the bat it strikes. If the hitter has a strong swing, and the ball hits the bat in the right spot, it will break easily.

But your son is quite lucky...hopefully he doesn't loose that trait.

2006-09-27 10:03:44 · answer #3 · answered by brianwerner1313 4 · 2 0

Throwing a "heavy ball" is just a myth. Some people say that even though the speed is not outstanding, some pitchers balls hit heavier. That's been proven to be nonsense.
Maybe your kid throws inside a lot, or his movement deceives batters so that they have a late perception of where the ball is and swing late.
I know that as a fact because I was also told I had a "heavy ball", but it was mostly my mechanics and a likeness to pitch inside.

2006-09-28 16:13:37 · answer #4 · answered by ljjahn 3 · 0 1

I have no idea how the physics of it work, but some people do throw a heavier ball than others. When you hit it, it kind of feels like hitting a grapefruit. The bat tends to just die when you hit it.

It's a good thing for a pitcher.

2006-09-27 12:36:04 · answer #5 · answered by cantthinkofanygoodnames 3 · 0 0

It means his fastball is powerful and has heft (for want of a better word) as evidenced by the broken bats. Often pitchers do throw faster fastballs but their pitches may hang or have no movement making them easier to whack out of the park.

2006-09-27 07:13:38 · answer #6 · answered by fugutastic 6 · 0 1

All it means is that his pitches tend to naturally sink.

It has nothing to do with speed.

2006-09-27 11:45:32 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Throws hard.

2006-09-27 07:14:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 2

that his pitch has good downward movement like a sinker.

2006-09-27 09:20:05 · answer #9 · answered by Rene C 4 · 2 1

EL DUQUE IS KNOW FOR HIS HEAVY BALL!!!!

2006-09-27 14:41:39 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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