What Is A Screwball?
Everything You Need to Know About Baseball's Screwiest Pitch
The screwball acts the opposite of the curveball. It literally fades away in the opposite direction than the hitter is expecting. Here is a primer on the pitch.
The Movement of a Screwball.
A screwball is a baseball pitch that is thrown so it will 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 down and in on a right-handed batter and down and away from a left-handed batter. Thrown by a left-handed pitcher, a screwball breaks from right to left, moving down and in on a left-handed batter and down and away from a right-handed batter.
Due to this left to right movement of the ball when thrown by a right-handed pitcher, a screwball is often used by righties against left-handed batters in the same way that a slider is used by right-handed pitchers against right-handed batters.
Which Pitchers Throw the Screwball?
The first prominent screwball pitcher was Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson, who called the pitch the "fadeaway". Mathewson used the pitch along with his fastball and changeup to become one of the all-time greats. He won 373 games, fourth best all time, and made the Hall of Fame.
However, Mathewson did not invent the pitch. Exhaustive research indicates that Hall of Famer and fellow 300 game winner Mickey Welch, who pitched in the 19th century, may have been the first screwball pitcher in history.
Carl Hubbell was probably the most renowned screwball pitcher in the history of the Major Leagues. Hubbell was known as the "scroogie king" for his mastery of the pitch and the frequency for which threw it.
Other famous screwball artists included Cy Young Award winners Mike Cuellar, Fernando Valenzuela and Mike Marshall. Boston Red Sox starter Bill Lee and legendary reliever Tug McGraw also built successful careers using the screwball.
Carl Hubbell, his Screwball, and the 1934 All-Star Game
In the 1934 All-Star Game, screwball pitcher Carl Hubbell struck out five Hall of Famers in a row using the pitch. That's right. Hubbell KO'd Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin right in a row. That stretch of pitching is regarded as one of the great All-Star moments in baseball history.
How to Throw a Screwball
The screwball is an exceptionally difficult pitch to throw with a great deal of spin, as the hand and arm movement required to throw it is somewhat unnatural.
Up until the final moments of the delivery, the pitcher's motion should be identical to his fastball delivery. The only exception is the position of the hand, as the index and middle finger should be located at 2-3 o'clock. At the end of the release the pitcher must follow through in a similar fashion to finishing a curveball, except his hand will be moving down the left side of the ball. During this time, the forearm will also pronate, turning inward. A drastic pronation is not required and may potentially be bad for the pitcher's arm. It is only necessary to rotate the forearm enough to move the fingers to a 10-11 o'clock position. The actual rotation isn't being generated so much by the turning of the forearm, but rather the downward pull of the arm. The pronation of the forearm is simply meant to get the pitcher's fingers to "roll off" the correct side if the ball.
If done properly, the ball will make up to a 2-foot move from left to right. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may or may not have a sinking action. At most levels of play this can be an exceptionally difficult pitch to hit due to its degree of rarity. For best success, pitchers use this pitch to jam right handed hitters, and throw it outside to left hand hitters to make them chase it out of the strike zone.
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If you're a baseball fan, here are links to more Baseball Primer articles that explain who invented baseball, the history of spring training, the fastball, the curveball, the knuckleball, the wild pitch, the designated hitter, baseball uniforms and the ten greatest baseball teams of all time. Enjoy!
