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The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power
pitchers," like Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Satchel Paige, Troy Percival,
Bob Feller, Bob Gibson, Sam McDowell, Randy Johnson, Justin Verlander,
Bobby Jenks, Joel Zumaya, Kyle Farnsworth, Rich Harden, Jake Robbins,
Joba Chamberlain, and J.J. Putz have thrown it at speeds of 95-100.9 mph
(152.9-162.4 km/h) (officially) and up to 107.9 mph (173.6 km/h)
(unofficially)[1], 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.
Gripping the ball with the fingers across the wide part of the seam
("four-seam fastball") so that both the index finger and middle finger
are touching two seams perpendicularly produces a straight pitch,
gripping it across the narrow part ("two-seam fastball") so that both
the index finger and middle finger are along a seam produces a sinking
fastball, holding a four-seam fastball off-center ("cut fastball")
imparts lateral movement to the fastball, and splitting the fingers
along the seams ("split-finger fastball") produces a sinking action with
a lateral break.
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