Baseball Glossary
Learn the language of Baseball — answer-first definitions with real examples, beginner to pro.
5 terms
- Hip-Shoulder SeparationProHip-shoulder separation is the difference in rotation between the hips and the shoulders during the swing. The hips fire first while the shoulders stay back, creating stored torque that whips the bat through.
- Horizontal BreakProHorizontal break is the lateral movement a pitch generates from spin, measured in inches to the arm side (positive) or glove side (negative).
- Induced Vertical Break (IVB)ProInduced vertical break is the vertical movement a pitch achieves purely from spin, measured against a hypothetical spinless ball — isolating the Magnus effect from gravity.
- Seam-Shifted Wake (SSW)ProSeam-Shifted Wake is an aerodynamic effect where an off-center seam orientation disrupts airflow asymmetrically. This produces movement that cannot be predicted from spin rate or axis alone.
- Whiff on Spin vs VelocityProWhiff on spin vs velocity splits a hitter's swing-and-miss rate by pitch category. This means breaking and off-speed pitches versus hard, straight velocity. This means to reveal which specific pitch quality is causing misses rather than treating all whiffs as one problem.
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