What is "fastball"

fastball \fast"ball`\ n. (Baseball) a baseball thrown with maximum velocity.

Syn: heater, smoke, hummer, bullet.

n. 1 (context baseball English) Any of the variations of high speed pitches thrown in baseball 2 (context baseball English) A four-seam fastball, which is a backspin pitch thrown with a ball gripped in the direction to cause four of the seams of the ball to cross the flight path and released with roughly equal pressure by the index and middle fingers

n. (baseball) a pitch thrown with maximum velocity; "he swung late on the fastball"; "he showed batters nothing but smoke" [syn: heater, smoke, hummer, bullet]

The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball. Some " power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown fastballs at speeds of 95–105 mph (152.9–169.14 km/h) (officially) and up to 108.1 mph (174 km/h) (unofficially), relying purely on 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." Although it is impossible for a human to throw the pitch fast enough with enough backspin for the ball to actually rise, it does create the illusion of a riser to the batter due to the unexpected lack of natural drop on the pitch. 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 both the index and middle fingers are touching two seams perpendicularly produces a straight pitch, gripping it across the narrow part (" two-seam fastball") so that both the index and middle fingers 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.

Fastball is an American rock band that formed in Austin, Texas in 1995. The band originally called themselves "Magneto U.S.A." but changed their name after signing with Hollywood Records.

In 1998, their album All the Pain Money Can Buy reached platinum sales within six months of its release, and stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for a year. In addition, the group has been nominated for two Grammy Awards – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for " The Way", and Best Long Form Music Video for their promotional video "They Wanted The Highway". They also received five The Austin Chronicle awards: 1998's Album of the Year, Best Video, Best Single/EP, Band of the Year, and 1995's Best Pop Band.

Fastball is a DC Comics supervillain.