when people say the word FASTBALL, what is it REALLY?

[radness]

When people say fastball

All i think of is a straight pitch that leaves the pitchers hand as a strike and stays a big fat meat pitch strike.
Does nothing.
And
my eyes track this zero movement pitch...height and trajectory...that has no challenging element...
Directly into my bat crushing it!

In fastpitch,
Simply because where the pitch is released is in the strikezone at the very beginning!
Very easy to follow because it stays on a line,
height and trajectory= path.
And
What stands out is
Most of the time once pitchers are competant to throw other than fastballs and change-ups.

Most of the time
Fastballs in fastpitch are not faster than the other pitches!
There is not a blazing fast element to them.

Now....now....yes there is a place in softball where pitchers developing its normal to call fastballs...
Heck beginners learning to pitch
Usually throw what they call a
'Fastball'
But it really isnt fast.

So maybe fastball should actually be called hmmmmm????
Straight pitch?!
'The straighter'
not 'the heater' cuz it aint hot.
Its not a fastball
Its a meatball!

Because remember
Fastpitch competitive pitchers actually throw moving pitchers
Faster than fastballs!!!!!!!

Think, say, do
Whatever ya'all want.
Just sayin
Playing competive fastpitch
4 years at the top of D1
7 years in womans division playing against All Americans and pitchers who were on the olympic team.
A pitch that doesnt move.
(or dramatically change speed)
especially anywhere near the plate
IS the most hittable pitch !!!

 

[Eric F]

A "fastball" my be the most hittable pitch for a batter, but it may also be the most accurate pitch for a pitcher. When a pitcher's movement pitches aren't moving as much as they should, or the pitcher is having trouble locating them very well, my DD will often resort to calling whatever pitch the pitcher can control the best, and try to beat the batter with location challenges. Most often, this is a "fastball".

Also. a "fastball" may just be fast in comparison to the velocity of a pitcher's other pitches. A couple of the P's on my DD's team have 3 distinct velocities in their arsenal. Using those changes of speed to challenge a batter's timing can be effective.

 

[ANNASDAD]

RAD, you say fastball, I say “2 seam” fastball!

While pitch calling, I haven’t called for a “fastball” in a long long time, it would have probably been in a HS game where we were clearly stronger than the other team.

 

[radness]

RAD, you say fastball, I say “2 seam” fastball!

While pitch calling, I haven’t called for a “fastball” in a long long time, it would have probably been in a HS game where we were clearly stronger than the other team.

New could rely on some spin refference
Ohhh wait you are commenting on spin right?!

 

[ANNASDAD]

New could rely on some spin refference
Ohhh wait you are commenting on spin right?!

Yes, the 2 seam is an amazing / funny pitch, it's crazy the difference in movement you get from every different pitcher who throws it! We had this very tall pitcher on our 16U team who didn't throw a rise, her 2 seam would explode upward?? I dissected her movement / motion so many times, never could figure her out! Anna's would always break hard inside on a RH hitter.

 

[_MIA_]

Yes, the 2 seam is an amazing / funny pitch, it's crazy the difference in movement you get from every different pitcher who throws it! We had this very tall pitcher on our 16U team who didn't throw a rise, her 2 seam would explode upward?? I dissected her movement / motion so many times, never could figure her out! Anna's would always break hard inside on a RH hitter.

Not surprising lots of guys throw a two-seamer in baseball but not many (none?) ever had it move like Maddux..

 

[ANNASDAD]

Not surprising lots of guys throw a two-seamer in baseball but not many (none?) ever had it move like Maddux..

Yes sir, almost like a knuckle action!

 

[radness]

Pitch description~

Its interesting because the word
Fastball
isn't really a good description if/when the pitch is known to move up/down/turn.
And like i commented
is not faster.

Certainly not all pitchers throw fastballs that move. Straight non moving pitch.
Not a pitch that has movement induced by its spin/speed.
Which many catogorize by the movement. Rise, drop, curve, screw.

People even describe the same things differently.
Example 2 seam pitch
One person calls it a drop cuz theirs drops.
Another calls it a fastball.

Pitch description!
If it quacks like a duck...
What do you think dfp?
If some 'fastballs' have obvious consistant movement,
and others dont...
Are they all fastballs?

 

[Gtrips07]

DD doesn't throw and pitch that is straight or has a bullet spin. Everthing pitch has spin and 12-6 spin (except when she tries to throw to hard and it is more of a 1-7 spin.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[radness]

Yes, the 2 seam is an amazing / funny pitch, it's crazy the difference in movement you get from every different pitcher who throws it! We had this very tall pitcher on our 16U team who didn't throw a rise, her 2 seam would explode upward?? I dissected her movement / motion so many times, never could figure her out! Anna's would always break hard inside on a RH hitter.

This is nice to read.
People acknowledging seeing differences.
Makes more of an impression because @ANNASDAD know you are heavily interested in pitching and took time to analyze!

Catching pitchers these type of experiences really made an impression on me.
( and why keep sharing this)
That players should find what works for the individual!

Sometimes what works for one doesnt work for the other.
And
Experimenting may create/find a gem to use!