Changeups Work Better When You Call Them

Ask anyone who knows a thing or two about fastpitch softball pitching about the changeup and they’ll tell you it’s one of the greatest weapons a pitcher can have in her arsenal. The ability to take 10-15 mph off the speed of a pitch while making it look like it will be delivered at the pitcher’s top speed works at every level, from rec ball to college to international play.

Here’s the thing, though. Just like a $500 bat works better when you swing it than when you stand there watching pitches go by, the changeup is far more effective when you throw it.

Now, that may seem obvious but from what I hear from frustrated pitchers, parents, and pitching coaches across the country apparently it’s not. For whatever reason, it seems like when many or most coaches are calling games they prefer to try to blow the ball by the hitter with every pitch rather than mixing in changeups and offspeeds.

Even when the pitcher is clearly not capable of blowing the ball by every hitter on the opposing team.

Personally, I don’t get it. One of the fundamental tenets of pitching is that hitting is about timing and pitching is about upsetting timing.

What better way to upset timing than to throw a pitch that looks like it will be fast but actually comes out slow? Not only do you get to make the hitter look silly on that pitch, you’ve now planted the idea that she can’t just sit on the speed and hit it (because she doesn’t want to look silly again), which means you’re now living rent-free in her head.

I think in some cases one reason coaches will shy away from the changeup is they try one and the pitcher either throws it toward the sky or rolls it in. They’ll then make the decision it isn’t working so won’t call it again.

That’s crazy though. Does that mean if a pitcher throws a fastball in the dirt or into the backstop they won’t call the fastball anymore?

Of course not.

So why shy away from a great pitch when the first one doesn’t work? Try a few, and if it’s still not working then table it for that game and come back to it another time.

Now, I will admit that some fortunate coaches may have a pitcher who actually can blow the ball by all the hitters on opposing teams so they may feel that pitcher doesn’t need to throw a changeup in games. After all, she’s already successful without it.

But that’s short-term thinking. Because if the pitcher really is that good, and wants to continue playing at higher levels, she’s going to eventually find that speed alone no longer gets the job done.

And if she finds that out in college (as some do every year) she’s then going to be scrambling to try to learn to throw a pitch that she should have been throwing regularly since she first learned how to spot that fastball. It could make for a very rough season.

A good changeup has the opposite effect of a pitching machine. The reason most hitters find it tough to hit off a machine (at least at first) is that the speed of the arm feeding the ball doesn’t match the speed of the pitch coming out.

In other words, the arm moves slowly to put the ball in the feeder, but then the ball comes out at whatever high speed it’s set at. The visual cue of the arm doesn’t match the speed of the pitch and thus the hitter has trouble figuring out when to swing.

A great changeup gets the same effect in the opposite way. The visual cue of a well-thrown changeup makes it look like it will come at the pitcher’s top speed, but then the ball comes out 10-15 mph slower.

By the time the hitter’s brain has processed what’s happening she has either already swung or was frozen in place by the incongruity of what she saw, and doesn’t recover until after the umpire has called the pitch a strike.

None of that goodness can happen, however, unless someone actually calls for the changeup.

My recommendation on how to use the changeup is the same as the instructions for how to vote in Chicago: early and often.

Show it early so the hitters know it’s a possibility, meaning they shouldn’t get too comfortable. Even if it doesn’t work the first time it may just set the hitter up for the next speed pitch, i.e., it will make the fast pitch look faster.

Use it often to keep the hitters off-balance. Again, even if it’s not actually working the best.

Force the hitters to learn to have to lay off of it and maybe you’ll get a few more called strikes on other pitches as hitters and coaches try to guess when it’s coming. A little confusion at the plate goes a long way.

Finally, use it regularly to help your pitchers learn to throw it more reliably in games. Many coaches and programs talk about “developing players.”

Here’s a chance to put your money where your mouth is, metaphorically speaking. Help your pitchers become more effective in the long term by developing their changeups, even if it costs you a win now and then, and you’ll have fulfilled that part of your mission.

It’s easy to think of the changeup as being a “beginner pitch” because it’s usually the second pitch a pitcher learns. And because movement pitches such as drops, rises, curves, etc. seem more impressive.

But the reality is a pitcher who is changing speeds effectively, and at will, without tipping the pitch, is going to be awfully tough to hit at any level. Start calling the change more often and you just might be pleasantly surprised at the results it delivers for your pitcher – and your team.