The curveball is one of the most important pitches in modern baseball. It is almost impossible for a modern pitcher to make it in the MLB without having a basic command of the fascinating pitch.
The curveball is a breaking pitch that is meant to curve downwards on the batter in a vertical way. The utility of the pitch is to confuse the batter, who ideally thinks that the pitch is heading for the strikezone before the bottom drops out, causing him to swing.
The pitch is nearly as old as the sport of baseball itself. Urban myths point to Candy Cummings, who played in the National Association for the New York Mutuals, the precursor to the New York Yankees, as the inventor.
“Satchel Paige’s curveball was no joke” – @Baseball History Nut
However, an 1869 article for the New York Clipper magazine points to National Association pitcher Phonney Martin as the first to experiment with a breaking curveball. Either way, we can surmise that the pitch gained popularity in the late 1860s or early 1870s.
Charles Eliot, the president of Harvard University at the time, vehemently opposed it, seeing it as “dishonest” and an unbecoming gimmick of the game. Eliot strongly discouraged its use among Harvard students.
The curved pitch typically has a much slower pace than fastballs. While the average curve in the MLB registers a speed of about 77-80 MPH, it is not uncommon for fastballs to exceed 95 MPH.
It was notably popularized in the mid 20th century by pitchers like Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros, among a great many others.
“Sandy Koufax shows he’s still got it in the 1984 Cracker Jack Old Timers Classic with the big strikeout with his curveball. You’ll want to watch this” – @ Baseball History Nut
Over time, other related pitch types have been developed and popularized. Some examples of the same include the sweeper and slider, which tend to have horizontal breaks. Another such example is the eephus pitch, which is a more drastic version of the curved pitch.
Curveball remains one of the most popular pitches in baseball
Regardless of who invented it, the curved pitch is a must-have in the arsenal of modern pitchers.
The increasing speeds at which all pitches are thrown render pitches less discernible from one another to the naked eye. However, batters continue to be confused by it to this day.
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