noun

• 1A baseball pitch thrown at or near a pitcher's maximum speed.

  ‘He might throw more pitches in the bullpen or throw more fastballs in the first inning.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘He throws a low 90s fastball and mixes it with a big-league curve.’
  • ‘He also throws a split-finger fastball that serves as a changeup and occasionally a cutter.’
  • ‘Montgomery's split-finger fastball is his strikeout pitch.’
  • ‘His best pitch is a split-finger fastball with a sharp downward motion, something he developed several years ago.’
  • ‘He combines a mid-90s fastball with an excellent slider and splitter.’
  • ‘His sinking fastball is his best pitch, and he has a pretty good slider.’
  • ‘He also has started using a cut fastball in the high 80s with considerable effectiveness.’
  • ‘He has a lively fastball clocked in the mid-90s and a good breaking ball.’
  • ‘His cut fastball has been very effective, especially against righthanded hitters.’
  • ‘He mixes a good fastball with an excellent curve.’
  • ‘As a result, he is having trouble hitting the high fastballs that have been his bread and butter.’
  • ‘In a year or two, he was able to hit the high fastball or at least take the pitch.’
  • ‘He burst onto the scene last year and showed he can control his overpowering fastball.’
  • ‘He needs an effective curve to spot a mid-80s fastball effectively.’
  • ‘He offsets the fastball with a changeup, and uses a hard slider as an out pitch.’
  • ‘Pitchers aim to keep hitters off-balance by mixing their pitches, such as following a fastball with a changeup.’
  • ‘But I surprised him with a fastball on the inside corner.’
  • ‘His fastball tops out near 100 mph, and he has a hard splitter.’
  • ‘His fastball tops out at 90 mph, pedestrian by today's standards.’

  1. 1.1
     another term for fast-pitch softball