Is a split finger fastball bad for a 14 year old's arm?

Answer 1

This is not a recommended pitch for a 14-yr-old pitcher. Here's why: First of all, it's unlikely that a 14-yr-old's fingers are long enough to effectively throw this pitch. That is also true for much older pitchers. It takes a fairly large hand to throw a splitter. But this is mostly a potentially harmful pitch for a young pitcher because when the fingers are split apart, it tends to "lock" up the wrist. (http://YouTube.com/watch?v=06AVCBk_W_Y) For most pitches, normally the pitcher's wrist is very flexible. Now it's locked up, which is one less "shock absorber" for the natural stress put on the arm whenever you attempt to hurl a 5-oz object as hard as you can. I'd go so far as saying that a properly thrown, 12-to-6 overhand curveball is less harmful for the 14-yr-old arm than a splitter.