What is a Fastball?

[chinamigarden]

The pitch you throw when the catcher puts the index finger down. Which direction it may or may not tail has nothing to do with what it is. Its the fastest pitch you throw.

Its the pitch that every daddy loves to talk about (my girl throws 60MPH...) but its also the pitch he claims his daughter never throws.

 

[CoachFP]

My comment relative to mechanics is what makes the fastball different than the other pitches and what makes it go faster? Just saying it is the fastest tells me nothing.

 

[ArmWhip]

I asked the question because I was looking for some clarification and agreement on exactly what characteristics define the "useless fastball". If it's Cats corkscrew pitch then maybe I agree.

I like what Sluggers said about not seeing a lot good spin at the CWS. I have spent a lot of time observing the spin the local D1 and D2 pitchers throw and most of the time it seems like just variations on bullet spin, not a lot break. But I will reserve judgment because I am not catching for them, that would be the best way to see how the ball spins and how much it moves. I will also say that in spite of the fact that I don't see much 'pure' spin many of the pitchers are effective. I have watched some of the better pitchers closely and while they may have a different finish the pitch/spin looks the same.

 

[go4fpsb]

The fastball is effective when located. Throw it down the middle
and it gets tattooed. Hit the corners and it is a good pitch

My 2 cents: I agree with Coach JV. Bust a fastball on the inside corner on the black as a first pitch most girls will be leaning back or watching it go by. Get ahead 0-2 or 1-2 in the count and throw it off the plate 4" inside or out to set up a change is effective, IMO.

 

[EP Dad]

I still see a lot of folks dismissing the fastball as a college pitch. I thought this article was interesting.

The Return of the Faster, Much Faster, Fastball Great softball pitching hints and recommendations for girl softball pitchers

 

[FPMark]

My comment relative to mechanics is what makes the fastball different than the other pitches and what makes it go faster? Just saying it is the fastest tells me nothing.

I thought that saying useing arm speed to induce spin across the ball would be the same as saying that keeping the fingers behind the ball would induce more speed. There are hundreds of different ways to thow a fast ball so I didn't think I wanted to start an argument on which is best.(4 seam, 2 seam, and an infinate number of finger position variations in between.) However, all fast balls translate arm speed to ball speed useing every bit of body momentum towards the plate. And IMO that would mean releasing the ball with the middle finger and inducing 6-12 top spin. Hope that helps.

 

[FPMark]

As far as usefullness goes, it kind of depends. If your fastball is say 64mph and your best breaking ball is 62mph, it could be looked at more as a hanging breaking ball if thrown over the plate. But if you feed batters a steady diet of 55-58mph pitches, then it can make a 64mph fast ball an effective pitch.

 

[starsnuffer]

I think you nailed it, Mark. A fastball isnt' a fastball unless it's significantly faster then the other pitches. I've heard people on these very boards claim that their DD throws a fastball at 56mph and a riseball at 59mph. ??? Um, what? It isn't a fastball in that case, it's an offspeed pitch, which would be much more useful if it had movement.

-W