There seems to be some differences of opinion about how useful the fastball is, particularly at higher levels of play. It also seems that people have different opinions about exactly how you define a fastball. For instance I have always believed that a fastball has 6-12 topspin, but Cat Osterman considers this pitch to be a drop and a fastball to have bulletspin. Then there are those who say their daughters fastball breaks, but if a pitch breaks away from the hitter isn't that a curveball, or if it breaks in to the hitter isn't that a screwball, regardless of whether you trying to spin it or not.