sidearms

     

Siearm is a method of throwing an object in which the arm swings parallel to the ground and the palm of the hand points towards the target. In baseball, sidearm throws are common in the infield because it is easier to throw off balance or while turning, as opposed to overhand throws which require a back leg-to-front leg weight shift. Sidearm pitchers are fairly rare, but many have succeeded in the major leagues, including Randy Johnson, Pat Neshek, Scott Sauerbeck, Dennis Eckersley, Mark Eichhorn, Javier Lopez, Jake Peavy, Dizzy Dean and most notably Walter Johnson. Others like Jered Weaver, David Cone and Tom Henke will sometimes change to sidearm for a strike out to fool batters. Sidearm pitchers are widely popular in Japanese baseball, usually because of the varied release point of the baseball. Different release points often make it more difficult for the batter to get into a rhythm or predict the timing or type of a pitch.