Pitching, although it may seem easy to one who lacks knowledge of baseball, is quite difficult. In fact, aside from hitting, it is probably one of the hardest skills to develop as an athlete. To pitch is not simply to throw as a shortstop or outfielder would throw, just on a mound; rather, it is a specialized type of throwing which involves much patience, endurance, strength, and skill.

In order for a pitcher to be effective, he must be able to fool the batter, for a large part of being a good hitter is being able to predict where the ball will be pitched and how. The most successful pitchers are not always the ones that throw hardest, but are those who can trick the batters, and who can pitch the ball at a desired location.

But how does a pitcher go about tricking the batter? One way is to throw the ball at different speeds. This keeps the batter guessing how fast the ball will come toward him, and he will need to decide in a split second when to swing. Another way is to throw the ball to certain locations. If the batter is expecting you to throw the ball low, but you throw it high, it is unlikely that he will be able to hit it well or hit it at all. But, even more deceptive is a pitch in which the batter sees where he thinks the ball is going, but suddenly, the ball goes somewhere else. This can be a great weapon for the pitcher to make the batter's chance of guessing correctly even slimmer.

The idea of a curveball is that the batter sees the ball coming straight in, but as he is about to swing, the ball makes a sharp movement, often downward and or to the left or right. Obviously, if the batter does not know where the ball will end up, he is less likely to get a good hit. The idea behind hitting is that the batter swings down through the strike zone in a straight path to the ball. However, if the batter has to adjust his hands to hit a ball that suddenly is in a different location, he has altered his original plan of swinging straight at the ball. If the pitcher is successful, the batter will either not hit the ball, or he will make a weak hit that can be made into an out. In order for a better to hit a curveball well, he must guess that the pitcher will throw it, see the spin on the ball and adjust himself in a split-second, or get very lucky. Thus, the advantage is often the pitcher's in the case of the curveball.

The curveball is a difficult pitch to throw at all for many people, and an even more difficult pitch to throw well for most people. When throwing a curveball, the pitcher will hold the ball on the seems (there are many ways to throw a curveball-this is just one). As his arm makes a throwing motion, he will quickly turn his wrist in a downward motion. Thus the ball is spinning downward rapidly, and possible slightly slanted. This causes the ball to "break" as it approaches the batter.

For many reasons, a curveball is an effective pitch. Almost every pitcher who hopes to be successful, unless he can throw 120 mph, must be able to develop a decent curveball if he hopes to be successful. The curveball, my personal favorite pitch, is one of the pitcher's most lethal weapons. All batters should know that it is harder to hit a good curveball than it is to hit a 100 mph fastball.