# Breaking Ball vs. Curve **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2001, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-ball-vs-curve/63633 "2001-04-28T13:22:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-ball-vs-curve/63633/1 "2001-04-28T13:22:57Z")
As I sit here, carefully preparing my proposal to make Kerry Wood my OWN PERSONAL STARTER I realize that I should get the fundamentals down about the various pitches…in case he wants to do some ‘light tossing in the bullpen’… _IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN_ I’ve got the fast ball down. I’ve got the change up down I’ve got the breaking ball down… but wait… I’ve got the curve down, and I think it’s the same as the breaking ball… are those terms interchangeable or is a breaking ball pitch different than a curve? jarbaby ---
**Author:** ![headshok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@headshok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/headshok)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-ball-vs-curve/63633/2 "2001-04-28T15:10:30Z")
A breaking pitch is any pitch that appears to “break” away from its expected trajectory. So a curveball is a breaking pitch, but a breaking pitch is not necessarily a curveball. You’ve got curveballs, sliders, screwballs, split-finger fastballs, etc. How they break depends on the pitcher’s grip and throwing motion. Popular Mechanics has a pretty good [article](http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/sci/9704STSSAM.html) on breaking pitches; how they’re thrown, the physics involved, whether they really break, etc. Just imagine how impressed Kerry will be with your knowledge of the ‘proper grip’. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-ball-vs-curve/63633/3 "2001-04-28T16:25:35Z")
Incidentally, the “fork ball” referred to in the above Popular Mechanics link is the same pitch that is usually called the “split-finger fastball” today. And, as headshok has correctly pointed out, the fork ball – as well as the curve ball, the slider, and the dreaded screwball – are all considered “breaking ball” pitches. When the sports announcer says, “He just threw a breaking ball,” he really means, “He just threw some kind of breaking pitch – maybe a slider, maybe a curve ball, I didn’t get a good enough look at it to tell.” ---
**Author:** ![DynoSaur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DynoSaur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DynoSaur)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-ball-vs-curve/63633/4 "2001-04-28T21:10:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jarbabyj \* > \*\*As I sit here, carefully preparing my proposal to make Kerry Wood my OWN PERSONAL STARTER > > jarbaby \*\* Let’s not be greedy, jarbaby…the Cubs need him more than you do. (14 Ks in 6 innings. Ouch.) You can have him between October and March. Just be sure to keep him in good physical condition 😉 Oh, and to answer your question…see what the serious people said before me. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-ball-vs-curve/63633/5 "2001-04-28T21:15:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DynoSaur \* > Let’s not be greedy, jarbaby…the Cubs need him more than you do. Are you sure Dyno…_ARE YOU SURE?_ _sigh_, Kerry…he needs some corrupting. thanks for the info on the pitches gang! jarbaby