Fingers On Top Of The Ball?

2/27/2008

One very common piece of pitching wisdom is that pitchers must release the ball with their fingers on the top of the ball. A corollary is that pitchers most certainly must not release the ball with their fingers on the side of the ball. I'm not exactly sure what the logic of this is, but I think it generally has something to do with maximizing the velocity of the ball.
     As it turns out, this is questionable advice, and certainly isn't an absolute, because whether a pitcher's fingers are on top of the ball at the release point (or not) is almost entirely dependent on their arm slot, and arm slot -- as we know -- is a function of shoulder tilt, and not the angle of the elbow, at the release point. Also, releasing the ball with your fingers on the side of the ball (but still behind the ball) can be a good thing because it can increase the horizontal movement of the ball.
     Let me make the case that many major league pitchers do not have their fingers on top of the ball using a number of photos below (which as far as I can tell are all fastballs).

Pedro Martinez

Here's a photo of Pedro Martinez releasing his 4-seam fastball. You can tell this from the orientation of the seams relative to his fingers. Notice that, since Pedro Martinez throws from a sidearm arm slot, it's impossible for him not to have his fingers pretty much on the side of the ball at the release point.

Fernando Nieve

Fernando Nieve throws from a slightly higher, low three-quarter, arm slot. As a result, his fingers are relatively more vertical but are not on top of the ball.

Tom Glavine

Tom Glavine throws from an even higher, high three-quarter, arm slot. However, even then his fingers are not completely on top of the ball.

Hideki Okajima

Very few pitchers actually throw the ball with their fingers entirely behind, and to a degree on top of, the ball. That is because very few pitchers, one being Hideki Okajima, throw from an overhand arm slot.