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[[File:20070616 Chris Young visits Wrigley (4)-edit3.jpg|thumb|200px|During pregame [[bullpen]] warmup [[Chris Young (baseball pitcher)|Chris Young]] warms up with a [[four-seam fastball]].]]
 
The '''fastball''' is the most common type of [[pitch (baseball)|pitch]] thrown by [[pitcher]]s in [[baseball]] and [[softball]]. "[[Power pitcher]]s," such as former American major leaguers [[Nolan Ryan]] and [[Roger Clemens]], rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit and have thrown fastballs at speeds of {{convert|95-105|mph|km/h|0}} (officially) and up to {{convert|108.1|mph|km/h|1}} (unofficially).<ref name="Baseball Almanac">{{cite web | url = http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/fastest-pitcher-in-baseball.shtml | title = The Fastest Pitcher in Baseball History | publisher = Baseball Almanac, Inc. | access-date = 2007-08-10 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070812080555/http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/fastest-pitcher-in-baseball.shtml | archive-date = 2007-08-12 }}</ref> Pitchers who throw more slowly can put movement on the ball, or throw it on the outside of [[home plate]] where [[batter (baseball)|batters]] can'tcannot easily reach it.
 
Fastballs are usually thrown with a [[backspin]] so that the [[Magnus effect]] creates an upward force on the ball. This causes it to fall less rapidly than expected, and sometimes causes an [[optical illusion]] often called a '''rising fastball'''. Although it is impossible for a human to throw a baseball fast enough and with enough backspin for the ball to actually rise, to the batter the pitch seems to rise due to the unexpected lack of natural drop on the pitch.
 
A straight pitch is achieved by gripping the ball with the fingers across the wide part of the seam (called a "[[four-seam fastball]]") so that both the [[index finger|index]] and [[middle finger]]s are touching two seams perpendicularly. A sinking fastball is thrown by gripping it across the narrow part (a "[[two-seam fastball]]") so that both the index and middle fingers are along a seam. Lateral motion is achieved by holding a four-seam fastball off-center (a "[[Cutter (baseball)|cut fastball]]"), and sinking action with a lateral break is thrown by splitting the fingers along the seams (a "[[split-finger fastball]]").
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{{tone|section|date=June 2017}}
 
The '''four-seam fastball''' is the most common type of the fastball. The pitch is used often by the [[pitcher]] to get ahead in the count or when he needs to throw a [[strike (baseball)|strike]]. This type of fastball is intended to have minimal lateral movement, relying more on its velocity. It is often perceived as the fastest pitch a pitcher throws, with recorded top speeds above 100&nbsp;mph. The fastest pitch recognized by [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) was on September 25, 2010, at Petco Park in San Diego by then-Cincinnati Reds left-handed relief pitcher [[Aroldis Chapman]]. It was clocked at 105.1 miles per hour.
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/671695-aroldis-chapman-and-the-15-fastest-pitches-ever-recorded/page/13|title=Aroldis Chapman and the 15 Fastest Pitches Ever Recorded|author=Brandon McClintock|work=Bleacher Report|access-date=14 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20151015055954/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/671695-aroldis-chapman-and-the-15-fastest-pitches-ever-recorded/page/13|archive-date=15 October 2015}}</ref> On April 19, 2011 Chapman lit up the stadium radar gun at 106{{nbsp}}mph (the TV-reading had his pitch at 105{{nbsp}}mph, and the pitchF/X reading was actually 102.4 MPH).
April 19, 2011 Chapman lit up the stadium radar gun at 106 MPH (the TV-reading had his pitch at 105 MPH, and the pitchF/X reading was actually 102.4 MPH).
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.totalprosports.com/2011/04/19/aroldis-chapman-throws-a-106-mph-fastball-or-was-it-105-video/|title=Aroldis Chapman Throws A 106 MPH Fastball, Or Was It 105? (Video)|work=totalprosports.com|access-date=14 October 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045607/http://www.totalprosports.com/2011/04/19/aroldis-chapman-throws-a-106-mph-fastball-or-was-it-105-video/|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>
Two general methods are used to throw a four-seam fastball. The first and most traditional way is to find the horseshoe seam area, or the area where the seams are the farthest apart. Keeping those seams parallel to the body, the pitcher places his index and middle fingers perpendicular to them with the pads on the farthest seam from him. The thumb then rests underneath the ball about in the middle of the two fingers. With this grip, the thumb will generally have no seam on which to rest.
 
The four -seam fastball is widely regarded as the main key to advancing to the next level of play. One of a baseball scout's main criteria when scouting a prospect is how fast he throws a four -seam fastball. The game of baseball keeps on progressing, and as research on the physics of throwing is published and recognized, fastball velocity training has become more effective. This can be shown by looking at the average fastball velocity in the major leagues as time progresses. In 2008 the average fastball thrown in the MLB was 90.9&nbsp;mph. 5Five years later it had risen to 92.0. To show the effect that this increase in velocity has had on hitters in the big leagues, we can look at the runs scored stat. In 2008, the average number of runs a team scored a game was 4.6; 5five years later as the velocity increased, the average dropped by half a run a game, to 4.0.{{cn}}
 
The pitch velocity has gone up so much mostly by the development of better training and clearer communication within the baseball community that velocity is so valued. People like Tom House, Eric Cressey, Kyle Boddy, and Ron Wolforth have all pushed the edge and dedicated careers to research on what makes the ultimate pitcher. Pitchers are getting bigger, faster and stronger, and pushing their bodies in the weight room as well as with weighted ball throwing. All of this has created a faster, more powerful game for pitchers on the mound today.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://redlegnation.com/2015/02/19/running-down-the-velocity-upswing/|title=Running Down the Velocity Upswing - Redleg Nation|date=19 February 2015|website=redlegnation.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404160712/http://redlegnation.com/2015/02/19/running-down-the-velocity-upswing/|archive-date=4 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://triblive.com/sports/mlb/5423918-74/mph-velocity-cole|title=MLB pitchers setting velocity records, altering balance of power|first=Travis|last=Sawchik|website=TribLIVE.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024082505/http://triblive.com/sports/mlb/5423918-74/mph-velocity-cole|archive-date=2014-10-24}}</ref>
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{{main|Two-seam fastball|Sinker (baseball)}}
 
A '''two-seam fastball''', sometimes called a '''two-seamer''', '''tailing fastball''', '''running fastball''', or '''sinker''' is another variant of the straight fastball. It is designed to have more movement than a four-seam fastball, so the batter cannot hit it as hard, but it can be more difficult to master and control than the four -seam. Because of the deviation from the straight trajectory, the two-seam fastball is sometimes called a '''moving fastball'''.
 
The pitcher grabs a baseball and finds the area on it where the seams are the closest together, and puts his index and middle fingers on each of those seams. A '''sinker''' is a similar pitch that drops 3 to 6&nbsp;inches more than a typical two-seam fastball; this causes [[batter (baseball)|batters]] to hit [[ground ball]]s more often, mostly due to the tilted sidespin on the ball.<ref name=walsh>{{cite web |title=In Search of the Sinker |work=The Hardball Times |author=John Walsh |date=6 June 2007 |url=http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/in-search-of-the-sinker/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709083316/http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/in-search-of-the-sinker/ |archive-date=2007-07-09 }}</ref>
 
Each finger should be touching the seam from the pads or tips to almost the ball of each finger. The thumb should rest underneath the ball in the middle of those two fingers, finding the apex of the horseshoe part of the seam. The thumb needs to rest on that seam from the side to the middle of its pad. If the middle finger is used, more whipping action occurs, making the pitch go around 10&nbsp;mph faster. This ball tends to move for the pitcher a little bit depending on velocity, arm slot angle, and pressure points of the fingers. Retired pitchers [[Greg Maddux]] and [[Pedro Martínez]] were known for their effective two-seamers.
 
Depending on the grip and pressure applied with the fingers, sometimes the two-seam fastball features more sink than lateral movement. Sinkerballers tend to induce a lot of [[Ground ball fly ball ratio|ground ball outs]] because hitters tend to swing over the ball due to the late downward movement, thus often end up beating the ball into the ground. [[Roberto Hernández (starting pitcher)|Roberto Hernández]] of the [[Philadelphia Phillies]], [[Justin Masterson]] of the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], [[Derek Lowe]] of the [[New York Yankees]], [[Tim Hudson]] of the [[San Francisco Giants]], [[Aaron Cook (baseball)|Aaron Cook]] of the [[Colorado Rockies]], [[Clay Buchholz]] of the [[Boston Red Sox]], [[Roy Halladay]] of the [[Philadelphia Phillies]], [[Chris Volstad]] of the [[Chicago White Sox]], [[Trevor Cahill]] of the [[Chicago Cubs]], and [[Bronson Arroyo]] of the [[Arizona Diamondbacks]] are or were well known for their sinkers, consistently ranking high in the league in ground ball-to-fly ball ratio.