How to Throw a Slider (Grips, Tips, All Time Greats!)

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Throwing a slider takes a lot of repetition to find the feel, velocity, and accuracy. It takes trying different grips and arm slots to find the right release and movement of the ball. This article aims to teach you how to throw a slider.

You will need to throw a slider dozens, if not hundreds of times before you feel like you’ve perfected it. When working towards developing a slider, you work backwards. Meaning start slow.

To throw a slider, the first goal is to find the right grip by looking at your spin of the ball. The ball should spin like a bullet, rotating side over side, left over right quickly and with a little bit of top spin.

When the slider is thrown correctly, the ball produces a red dot on the forward part of the baseball. This is how hitters see and identify a slider. However, this is just part of the pitch along with the break. The break is the “slide” as the baseball slides away from the hitter or the plate.

Throwing a slider comes down to the slider pitch grip, throwing it like a fastball, and releasing it with a slight doorknob-type turn where the baseball rolls off your fingers and generates bullet-type spin. Using either or both your index finger and middle finger is essential to being able to throw a slider.

Let’s look at the best ways to develop and throw a slider, as well some of the best of all time to throw this deceptive pitch.

The Slider Pitch Grip

  • Take note of these tips regarding the Slider Pitch Grip:

      • Not all grips are the same for each player

      • Find a grip that works for you

      • Find the grip that spins the ball better

      • Try different grips from different distances and speeds

      • Work towards the grip that gives you the most feel for the slider by seeing the most spin

      • Tilt the ball slightly to the outside with your grip

      • Try to use the inner seams with index fingers and outer seams with middle finger to help with grip

  1. The starting point of a standard slider grip:

    The pictures below are from a righthanded pitcher

    1. Place your middle and index finger on top of the baseball along the inside edge of the outside seam slightly off center.

    2. Place your thumb under the bottom seam of the baseball that is diagonal to the seam where your index finger and middle finger are.

     

Start by throwing the baseball just like you would throw during regular catch like you would with a two-seam fastball. Constantly do this until you get a feel for the grip.

Next, work on the release of the baseball by giving a very slight tilt to the outside of the right hand (if you’re right-handed) or left side (If you are left-handed). Think of it like you are slightly turning a doorknob. This will help get that bullet spin. Generating the bullet type spin is a critical differentiator between a between a curveball and a slider.

Continue to do this while playing catch. Start slow. You want the ball to roll off your index and middle fingers. Start at 30-45 feet just throwing it with the grip. Test different slider grips until it feels right for you.

Add velocity as you back up each time. If the baseball is showing that bullet spin, back up to 60 feet and throw it as hard as you throw a fastball. You should start to see the ball break a little bit.

Once you feel you have reached a point where your slider grip and spin are consistent; when you are throwing your hardest, focus next on the location.

Pitching is about repetition, trial, and error. Don’t underestimate the number of times you need to test different grips and throws to get the correct spin. Pitchers throw all their pitchers constantly throughout the week.

Other possible Slider Grips

If the standard slider grip isn’t working for you, try other areas of the baseball to grip it. Still use your index and middle fingers as the two main fingers when releasing the baseball. Your ring finger and pinky finger are more of a guide on the side of the ball.

Personally, I threw a 2-seam fastball more than a 4-seam. I liked that area of the baseball for my slider. I would basically just slide my hand back from a 2-seam and give the ball a slight tilt to get to my slider grip.

Different Slider Grips (1)         

       

My fingers and thumb are in the same position as the standard grip but I’m using a different area of the baseball.

Holding the baseball like this for my slider felt like the ball was slightly smaller and easier to grip.

Another slider grip I’ve seen is placing your index and middle finger along the top inside seam of the baseball. And your thumb under in the center of the baseball.

Again, try different grips with the slider and constantly practice the one that feels the best and generates the most spin.

The goal with the slider grip is what’s comfortable and results in that bullet type spin.

Because the slider is not a snapping motion of the wrist or elbow like curveball, you can practice it as often as you practice a fastball. As long as your pitching mechanics are already sound, throwing a lot of sliders should not increase arm fatigue or stress.  

What you don’t want to see a frisbee slider. This is where the slider is hovering and not breaking away at all. A hard gyro spin will get the slight cut or breakaway from the plate.

You want your slider break to cut away from the plate quickly. That’s throwing your slider properly. This is why a slider is slightly different than breaking balls, such as a curveball.

Best tips to throwing a slider

  • Start slow

  • Practice it from a short distance to work on grip and spin

  • The slower you throw it, the easier you will find a grip for it.

  • Back up slightly while adding velocity when you see good spin

  • Throw it with same arm motion and arm slot as your fastball

  • Keep your elbow up, just like you should with your fastball

  • Throw the slider in your pitching drills

  • Think outer half or outer corner of the plate when pitching in bullpen or to a batter

  • Throw it a lot in practice. Like a ton!

  • Keep your slider pitch down. Down and away is best!

  • Talk with your catcher about what your slider looks like from their view.

  • Talk to your teammates and catch partner what your slider looks like to them.

  • Experiment with different slider grips and wrist action

  • Work on generating horizontal movement

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Slider Tips Explained

As I stated earlier, work backwards when developing and practicing your slider. Start slow. Work on the spin with slower velocity. Then work your way up. The slower your start, the easier it will be to find your grip and spin.

Start at a short distance to work on grip and spin and gradually move back. As you move back, throw it harder if you’re still throwing it accurately to your target.

Throw it like a fastball, with the same arm slot. This is key to deception. If you throw it just like a fastball, it’s much harder for a hitter to recognize based off your throwing motion. An effective slider looks like a fastball out of your hand to the batter.

Keep your elbow up. All pitchers throwing a fastball should have their arm slot with the elbow up. It can be up if you’re on over the top type of thrower, or up if you’re more of a 45 degree arm slot type of thrower.

Work on your slider during catch, warmups, and bullpens. But also work on it in your pitching drills! This is a great way to get more feel of the slider and for it to become second nature to you. The more familiar you are with it, the better you will throw it consistently. Practice your slider during flat ground drills is an excellent place to work on your slider.

My favorite drill when working on my slider during pitching drills is the square hips drill. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and twist your top half. Your glove arm elbow faces your target, and your throwing arm is up and back behind your head. Twist and throw.

Visualize where you want your slider to end up. If you’re a right hander, you want your slider to finish down and away from a right-handed batter. Aiming at the outside corner. Or down and in to a left-handed batter. If you’re a lefty, you want it to finish away from a lefty, or down and inside to a righty.

Randy Johnson might have the most difficult slider ever to hit, especially when it was lefty on left. Nearly impossible

Repetition! Constantly practice your slider when playing catch, during pitching drills, and even at home by yourself. You can learn a lot about your grip and spin by laying on your back and throwing a baseball softly in the air while watching its spin.

Talk with your catcher, your throwing partner, and your teammates! This is a great way to understand what others see when they see your slider. Is it effective to them? Did you fool any of your teammates when they faced you? Does your catcher think your slider is an effective pitch?

What to avoid when throwing a slider

  • Throwing it too hard too early. Develop the spin first then throw harder.

  • Dropping your elbow.

  • Turning your hand underneath the ball when released.

  • Spinning the baseball like a top or a frisbee.

  • Locating inside to a right-handed batter or outside to a left-handed batter

Slider Avoids Explained

Pitchers trying to develop a slider who throw it too hard right away, will never see the spin they need. A slider starts with the grip, but the most important thing is the spin. It must spin like a bullet and develop a red dot due to its active spin. Start by throwing the slider slow when working on your grip. This will help find the spin you’re looking for.

Dropping your elbow is a big no-no when throwing a slider. This results in a flat frisbee like pitch. It floats in the air with a lot of spin but never breaks. That’s because your elbow is down, which pushes the ball up. A slider needs side over side top spin to be able to break away to your glove side.

Another common thing pitchers try to do is manipulate the spin by twisting your hand and wrist underneath the baseball at release. This also results in a frisbee type floating slider. This is what we call a hanger, a fat one right over the plate. You’ll have a hitter licking their chops when they see this!

Location matters a lot once you are confident in throwing a slider. Think of a slider as sliding away from the plate or away from the hitter. You want it to look like a fastball, maybe close to as a fast as a fastball, but eventually slide away from the hitter. You want it to look like the pitch was going straight then a huge gust of wind pushed the ball away to the side, trailing away from a hitter.

Slider left inside or started inside on a righty typically end up right in their hitting wheelhouse.

Is it okay for youth baseball players to throw a slider?

Because the slider isn’t as stressful on the arm as a curveball or splitfinger are, it’s okay for a youth pitcher to throw a slider. That said, the #1 priority for any youth pitcher, especially 12 and younger, is fastball location followed by velocity.

A slider has to be thrown faster than a curveball If your youth pitcher doesn’t already throw with some good velocity, it’s not worth testing a slider yet.

I’m a firm believer in the changeup being taught and used at a very young age. Especially for youth pitchers who already have good velocity but more importantly, excellent location. Simply being able to locate a fastball up, down, in, and out should be every youth pitcher’s top priority. Once that is established, move onto less stressful off-speed pitches, such as a changeup or slider.

The curveball we all know is sexy. It’s the pitch with bite that makes hitters look foolish. So, I get it, we all want to have a great curveball. Teaching a curveball to youth is totally okay if other areas of the pitcher’s ability are met. Specifically: Good mechanics, good fastball location.

However, constantly practicing a curveball at a young age is stressful on the arm and could lead to long term arm issues or short term extended arm issues. Whereas practicing a slider is much less stressful on the arm, so you might as well go ahead and practice it.

If you already have a youth pitcher who has great fastball location, try adding a slider to the mix. Throw fastballs outside then throw a slider to the same spot and watch how it slides away from the hitter. Making them look just as foolish as a great curveball.

What age can kids start throwing sliders?

There’s no right age to start working on a slider. My strong opinion is the number one thing you want to establish from youth pitcher’s is their mechanics. Good mechanics will decrease risk of arm injury. Good mechanics will also make it possible to practice other types of pitches. Because kids develop at different timeframes, throwing a slider differs from kid to kid.

Sliders and Curveballs won’t hurt a youth pitchers’ arm. Throwing them incorrectly or throwing them too hard before right will cause injury.

Most kids I have given pitching lessons or helped with practice pitching are not ready for a slider. Most aren’t even ready for a curveball. That said, I’m not against it if a kid has basically mastered their fastball. Typically, around 12 years old would be a good age to start working on a slider.

Again, pitchers should always learn to control and command their fastball first. And in my opinion, their changeup next. Changeups aren’t the flashy pitch, but most MLB hitters will tell you, a great changeup is the hardest pitch to hit.

Should I throw a Curveball or Slider?

You can throw both! Well, it’s not always that simple. Some pitchers just simply have a better feel or arm slot for a curveball. While other pitchers have a better arm slot for a successful slider.

There’s no right answer here because in the end, it’s a matter of what pitch works better for you. If you’ve been throwing a curveball for a long time and it just never has been a dominating curveball, try a slider. That’s what happened to me. I always hard a curveball but never had it be a nasty hooking curveball, so I tried a slider.

If your arms slot is already slightly lower or more angled than over the top, then a slider is most likely going to be better for you. Because curveballs require a lot of topspin, a lower arm slot and release point make it difficult to generate that topspin. The slider for a lower arm slot makes sense because of the side over side bullet type spin you want.

I have always thrown where my forearm to my elbow was closer to 135 degrees rather than 90 degrees. So I was already able to generate more of a side over side spin.

Check out these two nasty pitches from Justin Verlander. That’s why I said you can throw both. Look at the difference and what each pitch did to this batter. 

 

Slider Velocity

Your slider velocity once developed should be thrown as hard as your fastball. Again, throw your slider as hard as your fastball. That means you are not slowing down your arm speed. Once you have established your slider, you should be throwing it just as hard as your fastball.

The slider will not register on the radar as hard as your fastball though. You’re trying to throw it as hard as your fastball, but it typically generates velocity at around 10% slower than your fastball due to it’s spin and the way the ball leaves your hand.

If you throw 90mph on your fastball, your slider should come in around 80-82 mph. If you throw a fastball at 80mph, then your slider should be around 70-72mph.

The spin you generate with the slider is what is reducing its speed compared to a fastball. Even if your arm action is just as fast as your fastball, as it should be.

You’re trying to spin a slider through the center of the ball. To create that bullet type spin. By spinning it from the center, side over side, it allows the ball to still have a bit higher velocity for an off-speed pitch. The spin however reduces the velocity but is still thrown harder than a curveball because of the type of spin. Curveballs are typically 15-20% slower than a fastball.

Again, throw your slider as hard as your fastball. The velocity will be about 10% slower than your fastball still

Unless you’re Jacob DeGrom

Slider Location

Your slider should be thrown down and away from the batter. Get that engrained in your head, down and away. If you’re a right-handed pitcher facing a right-handed batter, your slider should end up low and outside.

If you’re a left-handed pitcher facing a right-handed batter, your slider should finish low and inside, toward their feet.

View from a right-handed batter facing a right-handed pitcher:

Never leave a slider up or try and throw a slider up! Throwing a slider up is the worst location you can pitch it. It’s right in a hitter’s sweet spot. And with the slider having about 10% less velocity than your fastball, it can quickly turn into a meaty mouth-watering pitch for the hitter that ends up right on the sweet spot of their bat and swing.

Backdoor Slider

A backdoor slider is when a right-handed pitcher throws a slider to the outside of the plate on a left-handed batter. Rather than throwing a slider to slide away from the batter, it starts way outside and just barely clips the outside part of the plate. Basically never being in the strike zone until the very end.

The same goes if a left-handed pitcher pitches a slider that ends up on the outside of the plate to a right-handed batter. That’s what the term “Backdoor” means when it comes to a slider or a curveball.

I don’t recommend this being a spot in the zone where you normally throw a slider, but now and then to really fool a batter, it’s totally okay and can be extremely effective and successful. From the batters view, the ball is never in the strike zone, so if it’s place correctly, it’s almost a guaranteed strike looking.

Best Sliders in MLB history

Randy Johnson

Randy Johnson, AKA the Big Unit, is known for his towering height and intimidating presence on the mound. Playing most known as a Seattle Mariner and Arizona D-Back Johnson not only had a nasty 100mph left handed fastball but he arguably had the best slider in MLB history.

Jacob DeGrom

DeGrom can be on the list for just about every one of his pitchers. The guy throws over 100mph but compliments that with a nasty 96-97 slider and 92-93mph curveball. The former Met now Ranger has one of the best arsenal of pitchers every in baseball.

Bob Gibson

Gibson is known as one of the most intimidating and scariest pitchers to face of all time. He loved to attack the inside of the plate vs any batter. Going from consistently pounding the inside of the zone to throwing arguably one of the greatest sliders of all time, made him routinely frustrating to hit against.

John Smoltz

During the 1990’s and early 2000’s John Smoltz was known for his strikeout pitch being his slider. He did this throughout his career as both a starter and closer. His slider was nearly impossible to have success against. For his career, hitters batted below .200 against his slider.

Dennis Eckersley

“Eck” was known for his fastball slider combination that made him one of the greatest closers of all time. The Hall of Fame Oakland Athletic, Eckersley’s slider is what made him a Hall of Famer.  

Steve Carlton

Many would argue that Steve Carlton should be at the top of the list for greatest sliders of all time. I would rank him higher if I saw him pitch more, but I wasn’t alive then. Many players throughout Carlton’s career said his slider was impossible to hit. Carlton is a member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

CC Sabathia

CC Sabathia’s slider was not the prettiest or sharpest, but clunky. But that’s also kind of how his delivery was too. It worked though and made Sabathia’s arsenal of pitches that much better.

Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke’s slider is his best pitch. He’s always had pinpoint accuracy with all his pitches and a very low walk rate and high strikes rate. But his slider is his most effective and consistent pitch that he can throw anytime to any batter in any count.

Francisco Rodriguez

“K-Rod” was known for his slider when he was closing games in the MLB, mainly for the Mets and Angels. His slider might be perfect because of its speed and how it moves or slides away from batters with ease. His slider is what helped him become known as “K-Rod” as a closer.

What’s the difference between a Slider vs a Curveball?

A slider is thrown harder than a curveball and typically has a hard lateral break, while a curveball is thrown slower and has more downward 12-6, 11-5 action on the ball. A curveball is a true breaking ball. While a slider is a hybrid between a fastball and a breaking ball. Most pitchers will typically rely on one of these breaking pitchers or the other based on what is most comfortable for their arm slot. 

What are the nicknames for curveballs?

Slidepiece, Yakker, and Snapper are pretty much the only nicknames I’ve ever heard for a slider. “Slidepiece” is definitely the most common nickname I’ve heard for a slider.

Final word 

Throwing a slider ultimately comes down to each pitcher putting in the work to determine the best grip, arm angle, and release point for their body to get that perfect late break.

Starting slow while watching for the correct bullet type spin then gradually increasing distance and velocity is the best way to work on adding a slider to your pitching repertoire.

Avoid a gyro slider or frisbee spin. This type of spin leaves the ball fat over the plate with no sharp cut.

Once you’ve mastered the spin needed to make it a slider, you’ll be ready to throw it as a hard as a fastball. Making it a very lethal pitch to add to your arsenal and much more difficult on hitters.

Hopefully, this article gave you some tips on how to start throwing a slider, or making your current slider better.