Screwball

A screwball is a baseball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a curveball. Thrown by a right-handed pitcher, a screwball breaks from left to right from the point of view of the pitcher. The pitch therefore moves in on a right-handed batter and away from a left-handed batter. Thrown by a left-handed pitcher, a screwball breaks from right to left, moving in on a left-handed batter and away from a right-handed batter.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The screwball has become increasingly rare because it involves an awkward arm motion that is both difficult to master and demanding on the arm, requiring a violent snap of the wrist as the ball is released. Very few Major League pitchers throw a screwball; many now throw a circle changeup that emulates the pitch's movement, however.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson is credited with inventing the screwball, a pitch he called a "fadeaway." Carl Hubbell was known as the "scroogie king"; other notable screwball artists include Cy Young Award winners Mike Cuellar and Fernando Valenzuela.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jim Mecir, who retired from the Florida Marlins following the 2005 season, was one of the last major-leaguers to throw the screwball.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Baseball: Baseball is a team sport, a bat-and-ball game, in which a hard, fist-sized ball is thrown by a defensive player called a pitcher, and an offensive player called a batter attempts to hit it with a tapered, cylindrical, smooth stick called a bat. The ball itself is also called a baseball. Scoring is a...

Curveball: : For the CIA informant, see Curveball (informant)....

Pitcher: :This article is about the sport of baseball. For other references with this word, see pitcher (disambiguation)....