what is the point of a change-up grip. why not just throw a slower fastball with the four seam grip?

Question

you throw a fastball for velocity and you throw the chang-up to keep the hitter off balance. Instead of gripping the ball like a change why not just throw a slower fastball. so say your fastball is 85 miles an hour. why not just throw a 75 mile an hour fastball when trying to keep the hitter honest?

Answer 1

Because the hitter can notice a change in arm speed and tell its a change up

Answer 2

The delivery of a change-up has to look to be the same as a fastball to fool the hitter. The harder you grip the ball the slower it comes out of your hand. The hitters could pick-up a slower fastball without a problem because a pitcher would have to slow down his delivery and arm speed. Good hitters can hit anything if they know what is coming and it is the job of the pitcher to keep them off balance.

Answer 3

guess you can forget about being a pitcher at any level. If you slow down your arm when you throw you are now tipping your pitches. A mediocre hitter can see that. You change the grip on the pitch and don't change a thing in your delivers including arm speed. The grip change allows you to slow the ball down to get that change of speed without changing a thing in your motion.

Answer 4

You would be tipping off the hitter by doing that.

He can adjust to slower arm speed by staying back on the ball. By keeping your wind up and arm speed the same he still has to think fastball.

That's what makes a change up work - deception.

Answer 5

Puts a different spin on the ball and depending on the grip could put different "english" on it--kinda like a knuckle ball. If the catcher knows you well enough he can anticipate a rise, drip, curve or slide.

Answer 6

if you change your grip you can fool a hitter that you will throw it fast but it is slow if you staid with the same grip you Can not fool him