Change-Up || Baseball Dudes LLC

There are plenty of different Change Up grips to try/use.

• Comfort.
• Maintain normal tempo of delivery.
• You MUST have the same arm speed with it as you do with your fastball.
• Throw it enough times in catch and in games to where you have just as much confidence in it as you do your fastball.

The grip in the pic is the grip I have found that feels the most comfortable to many and has proven to be the easiest to command. Think fastball with your middle and ring fingers. With that, it doesn’t work for everyone. Find a grip that works. Stick with it even if you have an off day with it.

Force reps in game situations with it. The only way to build confidence with it is to throw it to live batters.
The biggest issue I see is young pitchers chocking their CH grip too deep in their palm. This makes it tough for most to command. It should rest at the base of your fingers. Think about where your hand would callus up with a lot of hitting. Notice this in the pics.

Myth…The thumb does not need to be on the side of the baseball like many believe. While this may take some additional speed off, it can make it very tough to command. It’s OK to have your thumb directly underneath, as you see where my thumb is in the pics.

If the grip isn’t taking enough speed off, there are things you can do with your lower body to help take speed off.

• Less back leg drive.
• Drag longer.
• Think to leave your foot on the rubber as long as possible.
• Fall instead of drive with the lower half.

Though more advanced, I have seen all of these help different pitchers. Find which one works best for you, or your pitcher(s).

Hope this helps some of you. Throw that Change Up!!

Chris Gissell (172 Posts)

Founder of Baseball Dudes. Blessed with three beautiful children and an amazing wife. Baseball is my life, after my family, and I love sharing what I have learned from it. Thanks for taking the time to view what we offer here at Baseball Dudes.

Perspective

I’ve been instructing for I don’t know how many years. At first it was just something I did during the off seasons but had no idea what it was leading to.

Fast forward to 2012, the Angels gave me an opportunity to lead their young draft picks, teach them the game and how to be a professional, my eyes were opened. Since then my appreciation and understanding of coaching has grown deep. The amount of time coaches put in, the level of patience required, the attention to detail necessary, the consistent body language needed to lead by example, the understanding of what’s really important and what’s not, the importance of being able to relate to all different personalities, athleticism and abilities, the fact that being a good coach means consistently growing ourselves and coming to the realization that the one thing that matters most in all of this is finding ways to use the game to help them prepare for all those years when they are not playing the game.

I need to say Thank You to all my past coaches and to all the current coaches who take pride in giving the kids in front of them what they need on top of baseball skills. It’s often a thankless role but remember that no matter where they go in the game, they are going somewhere in life. That’s our mission.

– Chris Gissell

“My purpose, MY WHY, is to provide for my family, while also doing everything I can to develop quality people through the many life lessons that Baseball provides daily.”

17 Years Professional Experience (14 as a player, 3 as a coach). MLB debut 8/22/2004 with the Colorado Rockies. Retired from professional coaching on 10/31/14 to focus on family and developing youth baseball players full time.

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