How do you throw a riser with a wiffle ball?

Answer 1

Assuming the pitcher is using the official WIFFLE Ball with a solid half and eight oblong holes on the other half, a pitch will rise if the pitcher releases the ball such that the holes face the ground during the entire path of the pitch. This is accomplished by gripping the ball properly and throwing with a side arm motion. Another secret that all top wiffleball players know is that the balls must be prepared (scuffed) in order to throw effective pitches. New balls rarely work right out of the bag or box.

In order to control a riser, a pitcher will have to determine their own unique arm angle and release point. In most cases, the first few attempts at throwing risers will result in pitches that are way too high to be consistently offered at by hitters. This typically means that the arm angle is too flat as the pitcher reaches for their release point. A good practice tip is to try and bounce your risers on home plate (or even closer to you) as you learn the proper arm angle you should use.

There is an alternate way to make a ball rise. A special finger position used with an overhand release will also cause a wiffleball to rise as it reaches the strikezone. The grip can be compared to a split finger fastball or forkball from Baseball. With the holes facing the sky put your index finger and middle finger on holes directly opposite of each other. You other fingers should be placed "under" the ball as much as possible to support the pressure being applied by your top two fingers.

Experiment with your finger position on the holes. Some players prefer to keep their fingers near the top of the ball, while others stretch them more down the sides of the ball. And some will even partially insert their fingers into the holes. The key to making this pitch work is releasing the ball with perfect end over end backspin towards the plate. With the proper release, this ball can be thrown to the bottom of the strikezone and finish near the top by the time it reaches the plate.

It should be mentioned that this second technique for throwing a rising wiffleball will drastically reduce velocity. This pitch definitely falls into the category of off-speed pitches. In any case, it's always a good trick to have since even the greatest wiffleball hitters are amazed when an overhand throw creates a rising pitch. This is not something that they are used to seeing.