How to Throw a Sinker

What is a Sinker:
A sinker is a term used to describe one of the pitches in a ball game. Another term for it is a sinking fastball. However, a sinker is not as fast as a regular fastball. Other types of pitches are a cutter, a sharp curveball and a split-finger fastball.

A sinker ball is thrown at a slight angle than normal, so you get a late movement on it and the ball moves down to the right. This makes it one of the favorite pitches in a ballgame. Hitters have trouble making contact with it and so the pitchers have more opportunities of getting ground-ball outs. Knowing how to pitch an effective sinker takes time and practice. It helps to talk to senior and established players and get tips on how to throw a sinker pitch. Many will probably advice you, if you are 16 or under, to hang around a bit more before you attempt this type of pitching. The reason is this – youngsters run a danger of damaging their hands by stretching their fingers too much for a widened grip on the ball. Of course, if you were born with an extra-large set of hands, you may not face this problem.

How to Throw a Sinker:
A baseball comes with a closed-end horseshoe seam pattern. The horseshoe seam comes in handy for knowing where to place your fingers and how to throw different pitches. You can use several different types of grips to throw a sinker. You place your first two fingers – the index one and the middle one – parallel to each other on the seam at the horseshoe's closed end. Place your ring finger and little finger lightly on the side to both give some stability to your grip and to make it easier for you to make your throw. When you throw, throw in the way you would normally throw a fastball, but release the ball with a quick downward flick of your wrist, with your index and middle fingers propelling it forward.

Now move your index finger and your middle finger close together so that they now lie between the ball seams. Place your thumb sideways so that it lies in a 7 'o' clock position in relation with the two fingers. This type of pitch will make the ball turn over naturally as it is thrown. When thrown by a right-handed pitcher, this kind of pitch gives the ball a clockwise, top spin.

Another popular pitch is the cutter pitch. A cutter pitch has the near-same velocity as a two-seam fastball and a somewhat less movement and less sinking action than a slider pitch. To pitch a cutter, you place the index finger and the middle finger close together between the ball seams, but, instead to keeping your thumb in a 7 'o' clock, you move it in the other direction.

Then you should know how to throw a splitter or a split-fingered fastball, where you keep your thumb in the 7 'o' clock position and move your index finger and middle finger wider apart so that they now rest outside the ball seams. A split-fingered pitch has less velocity as compared to a two-seam fastball, but, with a little finger pressure, you can control the direction in which the ball tails. Pitchers with large hands will be more comfortable making this type of a pitch.

Some pitchers – the extra-large handed ones – even manage to grip the ball in the webbing between their fingers. This is known as a fork ball. Don't try this if you have small hands and even if you have large ones, let your fingers gradually accustom to this type of hold before making it a permanent part of your pitching repertoire.

A few things to keep in mind when you throw a sinker -

• You should make the ball roll off your index finger and your middle finger when you pitch.
• You should not get under the ball when you throw.
• You should not throw the pitch high.
• You should aim at the hitter's waist, throwing low and a little on the inside.
• You shouldn't throw so many sinkers that you end up straining your shoulder or arm.