Forkball

The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-fingered fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard without snapping the wrist. The forkball differs from the split-fingered fastball, however, in that the ball is jammed deeper between the first two fingers and that the ball starts to dive late comparing to that of splitter.

When released, the forkball, a "poor man's knuckleball" has little spin, causing it to "tumble" down through the strike zone. Though a forkball generally is slower than a split-finger fastball, it can be thrown as hard as 90 mph (145 km/h), so it can (like the splitter) look like a fastball until it breaks near the plate.

This is as opposed to the splitter, which "drops off the table" (that is, it suddenly moves down, towards the batter's knees) without any of the knuckle-like tumbling action of the slower, less-spin forkball.

The forkball is favored by several Japanese pitchers. Hideo Nomo features a particularly good forkball in his repertoire. Jose Contreras is another well known forkballer.

Shortly after World War I, "Bullet" Joe Bush, then with the Boston Red Sox, invented the forkball. However, it was later popularized by Elroy Face of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

[edit] Medical Concerns

The forkball is known to be a cause of the damage of the shoulder or elbow. Famous forkballers, especially Japanese players, have often required surgery to remove bone fractures or to repair damaged tendons several times during their careers.