How To Grip and Throw the Circle Change Up

The Circle Change Up – This is the most common change up thrown in baseball, especially with younger players, because it is the easiest to learn. It is called the circle change up because the thumb curls up to the pointer finger and the pointer finger curls down to the thumb (to make a circle). The three remaining fingers (middle, ring, and pinky) are on top of the baseball spread evenly from each other. This pitch can be thrown either as a 4 seam or a 2 seam. Usually a pitcher should throw it the way most of his fastballs are thrown. For example, if a pitcher throws more 2 seam fastballs than 4 seam fastballs, then they should throw a 2 seam circle change (and vice versa). This should be done because the pitcher wants to make it look as much like his fastball as possible. The arm speed should also be the same as the fastball. The grip of the pitch will take the speed off of the ball. An ideal change up should be 10 – 13 mph slower than the fastball. Some coaches teach to throw the circle to the ground at the release point. This means the hand will pronate and the ball will tail. Another tip to slow down the pitch would be to take a shorter stride towards home. Also by not pushing off of the rubber and acting like the back leg is dead can take off some miles per hour. No matter what though, the arm speed should stay the same because the main objective of this pitch is to look exactly like the fastball (same spin and same arm action) just slower.