Before 1872, overhand pitching violated the rules of baseball. By 1884, that restriction was gone. As the distance between the mound and home plate increased from 45 feet to 60 feet, 6 inches, the advantages of overhand pitching increased.
Submarine pitching never fully disappeared from the game of baseball. Rany Jazayerli revealed that a high ground ball rate is the secret of their success. Their ground ball rate is high because:
- Instead of the usual spin from overhand pitchers, submariners have top spin which tends to cause the ball to come off the bat headed downward.