My friend was saying vertical variance is the biggest advantage in pitch combinations because the bat is much thinner than it's length, making horizontal variance less advantageous. So that's supposedly why the 12-6 curveball got so popular with the 4 seam fastball. Supposedly most strikeout guys in mlb have a lot of vertical variance in their pitches.


I'm guessing fastball is generally part of most elite two pitch combo's.


what two pitch combo's does the zoo like?

GymBroFisher said:

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My friend was saying vertical variance is the biggest advantage in pitch combinations because the bat is much thinner than it's length, making horizontal variance less advantageous. So that's supposedly why the 12-6 curveball got so popular with the 4 seam fastball. Supposedly most strikeout guys in mlb have a lot of vertical variance in their pitches.


I'm guessing fastball is generally part of most elite two pitch combo's.


what two pitch combo's does the zoo like?

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The aquarium I believe is the appropriate moniker for this board.

I think a pitcher being able to work a fastball slider combo and being able to tunnel those two pitches would lead to a lot of success. If you had to pick just two pitches.

4 seam fastball sets eyes up and speed up
Circle change looks the same out of the hand falls off the table and is slower
Splitter looks the same out of the hand, can make move either direction and it moves down as well.
I also like a forkball but it is harder to control than a splitter. No seam interaction has a knuckle ball action but generally falls off the table as well.

4 seam combined with any of those is a deadly combo

Mariano Rivera throwing nothing but 4S fastballs and Cut fast balls is pretty impressive. The way he threw it, they had the same spin, same arm angle (within a degree, maybe) but very significant difference in where they ended up.



He had an impressive career for sure.

It's different for every pitcher, but in general, whatever grip fastball they can throw for strikes…combined with something off speed that moves different, but appears the same to the batter coming out of the hand initially.

LukeDuke said:

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It's different for every pitcher, but in general, whatever grip fastball they can throw for strikes…combined with something off speed that moves different, but appears the same to the batter coming out of the hand initially.

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Agree. The key is hitting your spots. Greg Maddux only threw about 86 but could knock a fly off the outside corner. His circle change was his primary off speed pitch I believe.

from an aggie baseball standpoint...

Wacha's fastball and changeup -- played well at Olsen and in MLB

W said:

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from an aggie baseball standpoint...

Wacha's fastball and changeup -- played well at Olsen and in MLB

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besides a well located fastball the change up is the most underrated pitch. especially if you get a little dip with it.

Fastball/changeup. Before Tommy John my slider was one of my best pitches. Afterwards I'd have spurts where I just couldn't throw it. My last year in college as a starting pitcher I threw nothing but a fastball/changeup 98% of the time. We give hitters too much credit.