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No, curveballs don't really 'fall off the table' as some think - the balls sudden drop is an optical illusion. This link demonstrates how a shift from the central to peripheral vision combined with the horizontal spin of the ball creates the illusion. Paper (PDF)
The authors seem to think this is something new, but 'in the day' of 60's high school, Connie Mack and minor league ball decades ago we used to enhance this apparent drop by rubbing dirt into one side of the ball, enhancing its horizontal contrast to make the balls spin more visible to the batter.
The authors seem to think this is something new, but 'in the day' of 60's high school, Connie Mack and minor league ball decades ago we used to enhance this apparent drop by rubbing dirt into one side of the ball, enhancing its horizontal contrast to make the balls spin more visible to the batter.