Okay, so, I was messing around with this baseball pitching thing, trying to figure out what makes a fastball really pop, you know?
I stumbled upon this thing called “Induced Vertical Break,” or IVB for short. Sounds complicated, but it’s really not that bad.
Basically, IVB is how much a pitch moves up or down compared to what you’d expect. Think of it like this: you throw a ball straight, it’s gonna drop a bit because of gravity, right?
Well, with IVB, we’re looking at how much more or less it drops than that “normal” drop. A positive IVB means the ball drops less than expected, making it seem like it’s rising. A negative IVB means it drops more.
So, I started digging into this IVB stuff. Turns out, all those four-seam fastballs, the ones that look like they’re just screaming towards the plate, they all have a positive IVB. They drop less than you think they will.
And here’s the kicker: if a pitcher can get an IVB of 18 inches or more, that’s considered pretty darn good. If they hit 20 inches or more, we’re talking elite level.
I started playing around with some throws, trying to get that high IVB. It’s tricky! You gotta get the right spin, the right release point. And it’s not just about throwing hard, it’s about throwing smart.
- I tried throwing some regular fastballs.
- Then I tried to add some more backspin.
- I focused on releasing the ball a bit higher.
It’s all about fooling the batter. With a high IVB, the ball looks like it’s gonna be lower than it actually is. Batters swing and miss, or they hit weak fly balls. Sometimes, they just stand there and watch it go by because their brain can’t process where it’s really going.
I also found out about something called a screwball. That pitch is wild! It breaks in the opposite direction of most breaking balls. Apparently, it’s super rare in baseball.
Honestly, this whole IVB thing has been a real eye-opener. It’s like there’s a whole hidden world in pitching that I never knew about. I’m still just scratching the surface, but it’s been a fun ride so far!
