A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball.
The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed coupled with its deceptive delivery is meant to confuse the batter's timing. It is meant to be thrown the same as a fastball, but farther back in the hand, which makes it release from the hand slower while still retaining the look of a fastball. A changeup is generally thrown to be 8–15 miles per hour slower than a fastball. If thrown correctly, the changeup will confuse the batter because the human eye cannot discern that the ball is coming significantly slower until it is around 30 feet from the plate.[1] For example, a batter swings at the oncoming ball as if it were a 90 mph fastball, but instead the ball is coming in at 75 mph—this means they will be swinging too early to hit the ball well (also known as being "way out in front").
Other names include a change-of-pace or a change.[2] In addition, before at least the second half of the twentieth century, the term "slow ball" was used to denote pitches that were not a fastball or breaking ball, which almost always meant a type of changeup. Therefore, the terms slow ball and changeup could be used interchangeably. The changeup is usually, but not always, pitched faster than a curveball and about the same speed as a slider.[3]
The changeup is analogous to the slower ball in cricket.
^Walsh, John (September 19, 2007). "Pitch Identification Tutorial". The Hardball Times. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
^"Changeball (CH)". MLB. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
^Brody, Shawn (Apr 8, 2016). "Looking at the velocity gap between offspeed pitches and fastball". Beyond the Boxscore. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown...
In baseball, the vulcan changeup pitch (otherwise known as a vulcan or trekkie) is a type of changeup; it closely resembles a forkball and split-finger...
In baseball, a circle changeup (also called the okay changeup, related to the thumb and index finger touching) or circle change is a pitch thrown with...
In baseball, the palmball pitch is a type of changeup. It requires placing the baseball tightly in the palm or held between the thumb and ring finger and...
known to have employed the eephus pitch include: Fernando Abad (the "super changeup"), Al McBean (the McBean ball), Luis Tiant, Pedro Borbón, Yu Darvish, Casey...
thumb; all fingers are spread apart. The grip is similar to the circle changeup, but with different placement in regards to the seams. Also, unlike the...
is truly an off-speed pitch rather than a type of fastball. Like the changeup, to which it is a close relative, it is thrown with the same arm motion...
era", baseball evolved into the modern game: the first fastball, first changeup, first batting average, first triple play, first pro baseball player, first...
His original changeup was a conventional circle changeup taught to him by Cincinnati scout Larry Barton. Hoffman learned a different changeup, which he throws...
possessing one of the better changeups in the game. In 2012, Fangraphs ranked Hamels as having the fourth best changeup in the game trailing only Jason...
today, one far more so than others. The changeup, which has variants such as the circle changeup, the vulcan changeup or the palmball, is a slow pitch that...
pitches that may be thrown, the four basic types are the fastball, the changeup (or off-speed pitch), and two breaking balls—the curveball and the slider...
were released in November 2021. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released Changeup on March 25, 2022, the first acoustic album ever recorded by the band,...
Global Information