Forkball

What is a forkball?

A forkball is one of the rarer pitches, but one that can be a powerful addition to a pitcher’s arsenal. Considered a type of change-up, the pitcher throws a forkball by first setting up their grip in a specific way.

To throw a forkball, a pitcher grips the baseball by spreading his index and middle finger very wide apart and jamming the ball into the space between them.

Unlike the splitter, which has a similarly spread grip, the forkball is a slower pitch, closer to a change-up, as a result of the deeper grip. The grip also gives the forkball more downward motion and break, almost similar to a knuckleball

How is a forkball used by pitchers?

Forkballs are off-speed pitches, so they can be used to get hitters out, similar to a change-up, or to otherwise throw off a hitter’s timing during important pitches in an at bat.

How to measure a Forkball?

Today, MLB uses Statcast’s pitch arsenal data to calculate how many pitchers throw a forkball and how many they throw.

Forkball Examples

Here is an example of Robert Coello throwing a forkball

Interesting Forkball Facts

In MLB, the forkball was popular in the 1980s, with pitchers like Dave Stewart and Jack Morris incorporating it in their arsenal. Hideo Nomo was another pitcher who used a forkball, and generally speaking, the forkball is a very popular pitch in NPB.

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