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.’- ‘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.’
- 1.1another term for fast-pitch softball
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