Talk:Forkball

Question
Can a forkball really be thrown at 90 mph or would this be a more accurate statement about the split-finger fastball? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.11.36.157 (talk • contribs) 23:48, July 3, 2004

Forkball amendments.
A true "forkball" can be thrown in the upper 80s, maybe touching 90, but that is not important. The most important part is that a forkball moves, acts and brakes just like a knuckelball. The only difference is the speed. Most pitchers today credited with a forkball just throw a wider splitter. When throwing a forkball you snap your wrist down and away from your body while keeping the ball wedged into the webbing between the index and middle fingers. Most people cannot even hold a proper forkball because you have to stretch the fingers out for a period of time to get the ball completely settled into the hand. If held properly, the ball should be bisected by the fingers and the fingers at the equator of the ball.

69.143.8.152 22:18, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Absolutely wrong. A forkball still has a degree of rotation to it. The knuckleball (or "knuckelball" as you would misspell it) is "pushed" off of the fingertips, resulting in very little spin, and a vastly different motion from a forkball.

Elroy Face
The article said that Face's time in the majors was 21 years, beginning in 1949. This period actually includes his minor league career, so I changed the information to reflect his major league career only. Not really sure why length of career is important here, unless someone thinks there's a link between longevity and the forkball? Arnold Rothstein1921 (talk) 14:16, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Invention
The main article currently attributes invention of the forkball to Joe Bush, "shortly following World War I." However, three years earlier, the May/15/1915 Sacramento Star (page 6) published an article stating that Pete Standridge has brought the pitch "up from the minors with him." The Star article includes front and back images of how the pitch is held in the hand. These images appear the same as the grip shown in the main wiki article, except possibly the thumb placement differs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.118.7.113 (talk) 17:10, 20 December 2021 (UTC)

Having now read the snippet of the Alan Wood book, which the main page cites as evidence that Wood invented the pitch, I see that the snippet only claims that Joe Wood *threw* a forkball, not that he *invented* it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.118.7.113 (talk) 17:13, 20 December 2021 (UTC)

Medical concerns
The first line under 'Medical concerns' says "The forkball, if thrown correctly, is known to be a cause of significant and increasingly common damage to the shoulder and elbow." Should that be 'incorrectly', or 'even if thrown correctly'? Mwvandersteen (talk) 11:52, 16 September 2022 (UTC)


 * It makes no sense to me that if this pitch is thrown like a fastball, with wrist snapping down like a fastball, that it would result in accelerated risk of shoulder/elbow troubles. The only thing different is how the ball sits in your hand, right? 98.38.32.90 (talk) 04:19, 3 August 2023 (UTC)