Pitching Movement: How To Make Your Fastball Move

So you want to know why some baseball pitchers are "magically" able to get more movement on their two-seam fastball (think Greg Maddux) while others can spend their entire baseball careers working on it — never to get their two-seamer to move a lick?

If you're thinking its because of the placement of finger pressure on one finger more than another — or because of some special grip — you're not alone! Most baseball coaches, parents and players think that pressure points and finger placement cause pitch movement.

It doesn't.

The secret to two-seam fastball movement lies in the length-difference between a baseball pitcher's index and middle fingers.

Try this for me right now...

Hold out your throwing hand, fingers extended. Notice that your index finger is shorter than your middle finger?

Herein lies the reason some pitchers get natural movement on their fastball and some don't.

Baseball pitchers who get more movement on their two seam fastball have a greater length-difference between their index and middle fingers than pitchers who don't get much movement.

Simply put: if your middle finger is a lot longer than your index finger, you stand to get more movement on your fastball than if your index and middle fingers were more similar in length.

That's it!

When a baseball is released from the hand, the last thing it touches is a pitcher's longest finger (typically a pitcher's middle finger when throwing a fastball).

If the length of a pitcher's index- and middle-fingers are similar, then the pitched baseball last touches two fingers. (A two-finger release better balances the baseball upon release.)

When there is a significant difference between the length of a pitcher's index- and middle-fingers, the pitched baseball is essentially released off of one finger — the middle finger because it's the longest. As a result, the pitch spins off-balance, creating movement.

Dr. Mike Marshall, a former Cy Young award winning pitcher, who runs a pitching instruction business in Florida, says on his Web site that a pitcher's release point influences fastball movement, too.

To some extent he's right. However, 99.99% of the time, when coaches or parents tell pitchers to start "changing" release points, the pitcher enters what I commonly refer to as a "Mechanical Danger Zone."