MLB: Five Pitches That Changed Everything

During the same period, another variation was added to a pitcher’s arsenal called the screwball. Pat Jordan from Sports Illustrated Pitching: The Keys to Excellence: recounts that the screwball

"“got its name because it must be thrown in a way that is the opposite of every pitch; because the ball spins in a way that is the reverse of a curveball; and finally, because only a demented person would specialize in such a perverse pitch that is so hard to master and so damaging to a pitcher’s arm.”"

And that’s not the last time we’ll hear about damage to the arm and, in particular, the elbow that will come about with every new advance in pitching a baseball.

Notables such as Warren Spahn (pictured above), Carl Hubbell, and Fernando Valenzuela all enjoyed success with the screwball and both Hubbell and Spahn have plaques in the Hall Of Fame. Of note also is that all three are lefties and for a reason no one has figured out yet, the pitch seems to come naturally to many southpaws.