Baseball Gyroball

A gyroball is a type of baseball pitch used primarily by players in Japan. It is thrown with a spiral-like spin, so that there is no Magnus force on the ball as it arrives at home plate. The gyroball is sometimes confused with the shuuto, another pitch used in Japan.

Overview

The gyroball pitch was first identified by the Japanese scientist Ryutaro Himeno (姫野龍太郎), and later developed into a specific throwing technique by baseball instructor Kazushi Tezuka (手塚一志), who used computer simulations to create a new style of delivery intended to reduce stress on the pitcher. They published their work in a book, currently available only in Japan, the title of which is roughly translated as The Secret of the Miracle Pitch (魔球の正体).

In simulations, they showed how a pitcher with good mechanics could throw the baseball in a way that it spun like a bullet or perfect football spiral, around the axis represented by the forward motion of the ball. This results in an unprecedented amount of "break" in the trajectory of the ball on the way to the home plate.

However, the technique to throwing the gyroball is all in the arms, not in the unique grip of the baseball. Kazushi Tezuka is an instructor at the Jyoutatsuya baseball dojo in Tokyo, and Osaka, Japan. According to Tezuka, use of the arms "is the most important part of throwing the gyroball. It has nothing to do with the hands."

Amidst many conflicting claims, Tezuka says the gyroball has been misunderstood. In short, similar to a bullet, gyroball's axis of spin directly faces forward.

According to Himeno and Tezuka, a gyroball is thrown so that, at the point of release, instead of having the pitcher's arm move inwards towards the body (the standard method used in the United States), the pitcher rotates his arm so that it moves away from his body, toward third base for a right-handed pitcher and toward first base for a left-handed pitcher.

The unusual method of delivery creates a bullet-like spin on the ball with the axis of spin in line with the direction of the throw, similar to the way an American football is thrown. According to Tezuka, the pitch, if thrown correctly, is meant to fly straight like a fastball. Contrary to early speculation that the gyroball was a late moving breaking ball, the fact that the pitch travels with a bullet-spin denotes that the baseball is stabilized, hence the lack of movement. In baseball, most pitches are thrown with backspin, like the usual fastball, or with a more forward spinning motion, like the curveball and the slider.

To throw a gyroball, a pitcher holds the side of the ball with a fastball grip. The pitcher's hips and throwing shoulder must be in near-perfect sync, something the book refers to as "double-spin mechanics." As the pitcher rotates his shoulder, he snaps his wrist and pulls down his fingers rather than flipping them over the ball, as happens with curveballs. The rotation is side over side. When the pitcher lets go, he must pronate his wrist, or turn it so the palm faces third base. It's like a right-hander throwing a screwball, only instead of the ball last touching the middle finger, it spins off the index finger.

Batters use the arm speed of the pitcher and the spin on a baseball, made visible by the seams, to judge the speed and trajectory of a pitch. The gyroball is thrown with the arm speed of a usual fastball, but with a different actual speed. Its bullet-like spinning motion may hide the seams of a ball from the view of the batter, making it difficult to predict the pitch. Typical strategy entails throwing many variations of pitches, followed by a gyroball. The batter, predicting a change in speed caused by the ball's spin, may adapt to the wrong speed and swing incorrectly.

The gyroball is also often confused with a completely different Japanese pitch called the shuuto, due to an error in a well-known article by baseball writer Will Carroll. Although Carroll later corrected himself, the confusion still persists.

Outline

SPORTS WORLD

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.

Rules and gameplay: A game is played between two teams, each comprising nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding).

Baseball field: A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played.

Equipment: A rounded, solid wooden or hollow aluminum bat. Wooden bats are traditionally made from ash wood, though maple and bamboo is also sometimes used.

Player rosters: Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different levels of organized play. Major League Baseball teams maintain 25-player active rosters.

Non players: In the game of baseball, the official scorer is a person appointed by the league to record the events on the field, and to send the official scoring record of the game back to the league offices.

Distinctive elements: Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following, including American and Canadian football, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer.

Defensive Play: Baseball is unlike most other competitive sports in that the defense is given control of the ball.

Offensive Play: Batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher.

Batting order (1-9): The batting order or batting lineup is the sequence in which the members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher.

Strategy and tactics: Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.
Baseball Positions

SPORTS WORLD

Baseball Positions

At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players on the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound.

Defensive Players

Pitcher (P): The pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk.

Catcher (C): When a batter takes his/her turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher.

First Baseman (1B): First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team.

Second Baseman (2B): The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must be able to make the pivot on a double play.

Third Baseman (3B): The third baseman requires good reflexes in reacting to batted balls, as he or she is often the closest infielder (roughly 90–120 feet) to the batter.

Shortstop (SS): The position is mostly filled by defensive specialists, so shortstops are generally relatively poor batters who bat later in the batting order, with some exceptions.

Left Fielder (LF): Outfielders must cover large distances - speed, instincts, and quickness in reacting to the ball are key. They must be able to catch fly balls above their head and on the run.

Center Fielder (CF): A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field.

Right Fielder (RF): Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound.

Offensive Players

Batter: A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, drive runners home, or advance runners along the bases for others to drive home.

Runner: In general, base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run.

Designated Hitter: The rule allows teams to have one player, known as the designated hitter (abbreviated DH), to bat in place of the pitcher.

Pinch Hitter: Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute.

Pinch Runner: The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted.

Lead Off: A lead or lead off is the short distance that a player stands away from their current base.

Lead Off Hitter: Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must reach base at a proficient on-base percentage rate and be able to steal bases.

Cleanup Hitter: Cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the bases", hence the name.

SPORTS

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.