Forkball pitches have faded off the map a bit recently. That may just be because there are so many new names for pitches. Often a forkball is mistaken for a slider, a split finger fastball, or a cutter. Like the palmball, forkball pitches arent really talked about so much anymore, which doesnt mean they arent being thrown.
What Are Forkball Pitches?
Maybe the reason forkball pitches arent thrown very often is because the forkball is so hard to master. Forkball pitches are many things. They are as fast as a fastball, as breaking as a slider, and as perplexing as a knuckleball. Actually, the forkball is sometimes referred to as a poor mans knuckleball because it has limited spin while being hard to track.
The strange thing about pitches is that they may look identical but they are thrown in entirely different ways. The forkball might break at the strike zone like a splitter, but the grip on a forkball is much deeper in the fingers. The fingers are not splayed apart as with a splitter, yet the result is somewhat similar.
If you think about a knuckleball being thrown as hard as a fastball, you get the sense of how devastating good forkball pitches can be. The most popular forkball pitcher of the moment is Hideo Nomo. In fact, the forkball is much more prevalent in Japan. The reason may be because they are easier to throw with a slighter frame.
