Changeup

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A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed coupled with its deceptive delivery is meant to confuse the batter's timing. It is meant to be thrown with the same biomechanics as a fastball, but further back in the hand, which makes it release from the hand slower while still retaining the look of a fastball. A changeup is generally thrown to be 8–15 miles per hour (13–24 km/h) slower than a fastball. If thrown correctly, the changeup will confuse the batter because the human eye cannot discern that the ball is coming significantly slower until it is around 30 feet (9.1 m) from the plate. For example, a batter swings at the oncoming ball as if it were a 94 mph (151 km/h) fastball, but instead the ball is coming in at 89 mph (143 km/h), so they swing too early to hit the ball well (also known as being "out in front"). Other names...

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