Split-finger describes a grip or pitch in baseball where the index and middle fingers spread wide apart on the ball, straddling the seams.
A split-finger fastball (or splitter) looks like a fastball but drops sharply as it reaches the plate: His split-finger was unhittable tonight.
The term also applies to the grip itself.
1. pitch — fastball, Maximum-speed baseball throw; changeup (Deliberately slow pitch); forkball (Finger-spread dropping pitch); baseball (Bat-and-ball team sport); pitcher · mound · strikeout · movement · dive · plate · grip · rotation · velocity · deception
2. grip — index, Alphabetical guide to contents; middle (Central point or position); seam (Joined fabric edge); horseshoe (Curved metal hoof protector); spread · knuckle · pressure · thumb · palm · tuck · fork · wide · fingertip · placement
Opposites
PITCH MOVEMENT DIRECTIONsplit-finger ≠ rising fastball Pitch seeming to hop; cutter · curveball · slider
PITCH VELOCITYsplit-finger ≠ heater Device producing warmth; gas · high heat · fastball · two-seam fastball · blazer
pitch velocity/speed categorysplit-finger ≠ changeup Deliberately slow pitch; curveball · knuckleball · slurve
Categories
pitching: fastball, slider, curveball, changeup, sinker
Family
split, finger, splits, splitting, splitter, fingers, fingered, fingering
- Familiarity
- Top 500,000
- Profile
- Mostly American · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G