Baseball Pitches Illustrated

自從看了MLB後，就不知不覺變成球迷了XD。但對於不同投手的許多球種，依舊霧煞煞。我在Lokesh Dhakar的網頁看到他用簡單的幾張圖介紹幾個常聽到的球種，清楚易懂，與大家分享。主要focus在:

• 快速球: Four-seam, Two-seam, Cutter, Splitter, and Forkball
• 變化球: Curveball, Slider, Slurve, and Screwball
• 變速球: Changeup, Palmball, Circle Changeup

或許不懂棒球的人會覺得這麼多怎麼可能都記得住，但其實每一位投手所擅長的球種都只是這些其中的一部份而已，如王建民擅長的是sinker, slider, changeup, forkball等；而松板大輔擅長forkball, four-seam fastball, changeup, cutter, curveball等。對於球種的識別，最簡單的方式有以下三種：

• Speed(球速)
• Movement(球的飄移): the general direction the ball is moving
• Break(變化幅度): a sudden shift in direction

除此三種，其他還有一些可識別球種的細微觀察，如ball rotation(球的轉速), point of release(釋球點), and grip(球的握法)等，對於入門者，這邊就不詳加介紹了。另外，以下圖中的進球點並不影響球種喔！

Four-seam Fastball (四縫線快速球)	Sinker (伸卡球)
85-100 mph	80-90 mph
Fastest, straightest pitch. Little to no movement.	Also known as a two-seam fastball. Moves downward, and depending on the release, will sometimes run in on a right handed hitter (RHH).
Cutter (卡特球, 切球)	Splitter (指叉球)
85-95 mph	80-90 mph
Breaks away from a right handed hitter (RHH) as it reaches the plate. Mix of a slider and a fastball. Faster than a slider but with more movement than a fastball.	Breaks down suddenly before reaching plate.
Forkball (叉指快速球)	Curveball (曲球)
75-85 mph	70-80 mph
Like a splitter, but with a less dramatic, more gradual downward movement.	Commonly called a 12-6 curveball. The 12-6 refers to the top to bottom movement (picture a clock with hands at 12 and 6).
Slider (滑球)	Slurve (滑曲球)
80-90 mph	70-80 mph
Breaks down and away from a RHH. Between a fastball and a curve.	11-5 movement. Similar to a curve but with more lateral movement.
Screwball (螺旋球)	Changeup (變速球)
65-75 mph	70-85 mph
1-7 movement. Opposite of the slurve.	Slower than a fastball, but thrown with the same arm motion.
Palmball (掌心球)	Circle Changeup (圈指變速球)
65-75 mph	70-80 mph
Just like a changeup, this pitch is slower than a fastball, but thrown with the same arm motion.	A changeup with 1-7 moment like the screwball.