Pitching style – Three quarters

The second type of pitching style I will talk about is the three quarters pitching style. Three quarters is the type of pitching in which the arm of the pitcher is between the waist level and the head. Three quarters are also frequently used by pitchers in Major league and other pro-league. The release point of three quarters is a bit lower than the overhand, but it still has its advantages. One of the advantage is that the three quarters allow difference in the angle of the pitch. Instead of a straight pitch from up to down like the overhand, the three quarters come in a diagonal angle that is hard to hit for the batters. After batting against a overhand, seeing the ball coming in a diagonal angle can cause confusion for the batter. Also three quarters allow you to use the full strike zone, meaning that you can use all up, down, left, and right. This is not the case for overhand pitchers.

Another advantage is that the three quarters allow both speed and change. When I mean “change” I mean the breaking balls that can be used with more efficiency with three quarters. The angle of the three quarters allow the pitchers to throw better angled breaking balls. For example, if a overhand pitcher throws a slider (a breaking ball that breaks sideways or downward with considerable speed) it can only go sideways with little angle in the pitch. It is also hard for them to use the left and right of the strike zone. However if a three quarters pitcher throws a slider the pitch has more break, or change that will make the batters swing.

Disadvantage of three quarters is that first, the tailing of fastball is weaker than overhand. By this I mean that the ball has less edge, or spin than the overhand pitch. To put it easily, three quarters fastball is weaker than overhand fastballs. Another weakness is that the pitch can be easily read. This means that the batters have more time to figure out what kind of ball the pitcher pitched, whether if it is a breaking ball or a fastball.

Some famous three quarters pitchers are Randy Johnson, Ryu-Hyun-Jin from Korea, Park Chan Ho, and others.