fastball

     

The fastball (also calle hummer and other names) is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," like Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens and Satchel Paige have thrown it at speeds of 95-104 mph (152.9-167.3 km/h) (officially) and up to 107.9 mph (173.6 km/h) (unofficially), relying on this speed to prevent the ball from being hit. Others throw more slowly but put movement on the ball or throw it on the outside of the plate where the batter cannot easily reach it. The appearance of a faster pitch to the batter can sometimes be achieved by minimizing the batter's vision of the ball before its release. The result is known as an "exploding fastball": a pitch that seems to arrive at the plate quickly despite its low velocity. Fastballs are usually thrown with backspin, so that the Magnus effect creates an upward force on the ball, causing it to fall less rapidly than might be expected. A pitch on which this effect is most marked is often called a "rising fastball", as the ball appears to rise to the batter. Colloquially, use of the fastball is called throwing heat or putting steam on it, among many other variants.

Trivia about fastball

  • This basic pitch is also the name of the group with the 1998 hit "The Way"
  • In the most basic set of catcher's signals, one finger down equals this most basic pitch

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