Tag: slider

In baseball, a slider (also known as a yakker, a snapper, or a spinner) is a pitch that breaks laterally and down, with a speed between that of a curveball and that of a fastball.
The break on the pitch is shorter than that of a curveball. The release technique of a slider is between a curveball and a fastball. The slider is similar to the cutter, a pitch which is thrown as a fastball, but differs in the sense that a slider tends to be more of a breaking ball.
Depending on velocity, a pitch can fall anywhere on the continuum from “fastball” to “slider”:
The most notable difference between a slider and curveball is that the curveball delivery includes a downward yank on the ball as it is released, in addition to the lateral spin applied by the slider grip. The slider is released off the index finger while the curveball is released off the middle finger. If the pitcher is snapping his wrist as he throws, and the movement is more downward than sideways, then he is probably throwing a…