When I first started, I was just watching the game. Now, I watch the pitch on the monitor and move my eyes to the field when the ball is hit. The most common pitches thrown in a game are fastballs, curves, sliders and changeups. Fastballs, as the name implies, are hard and relatively straight. Curveballs have a hump-like trajectory and seem to drop several feet.
Sliders are a little slower than fastballs and run across the plate.
Changeups are delivered with the same motion as fastballs but are considerably slower and seem to drop in the strike zone. Schroeder offers these tips for fans wishing to identify pitches. If he swings late and it seems like he can't catch up to the ball, it's a fastball. If a ball bounces in the dirt, it's normally a breaking ball. You don't see many fastballs bounce in the dirt.