How To Throw A 2 Seam Fastball

By Steven Ellis, former Chicago Cubs pitching pro

A 2-seam fastball, sometimes called a 2-seamer, is a variant of the straight fastball, or 4-seam fastball.

The 2-seam fastball is designed to have more movement than a 4-seam fastball, and is a pitch to be used while the pitcher is ahead in the count, setting up an off speed pitch or looking to get a strikeout.

To throw a 2-seam fastball, the pitcher grabs a baseball and finds the area on it where the seams are the closest together.

Then, the baseball is rotated so that those seams are perpendicular to his body, with the index and middle fingers on each of those seams respectively.

Learn how to throw a 2-seam fastball with each finger touching the seam from the pads or tips to almost the ball of each finger. The thumb should rest underneath the ball in the middle of those two fingers, finding the apex of the horseshoe part of the seam.

When throwing a 2-seam fastball, the thumb needs to rest on that seam from the side to the middle of its pad.

It's also important to remember that the 2 seamer in baseball will tend to move for the pitcher a little bit depending on velocity, arm-slot angle and pressure points of the fingers on the baseball.