Fastball Fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thrown fastballs at speeds of (officially) and up to (unofficially). Pitchers who throw more slowly can put movement on the ball, or throw it on the outside of home plate where batters can't easily reach it. The appearance of a faster pitch can sometimes be achieved by minimizing the batter's vision of the ball before its release. The
Noah Syndergaard to the Elias Sports Bureau, Syndergaard became the first rookie since 1900 to win two consecutive starts with nine strikeouts and no walks in each start. He finished his rookie season with a 9–7 record and a 3.24 ERA in 24 starts, with the ability to throw his fastball at 100 miles per hour at times, he struck out 166 batters and gave up 31 walks (2 intentional), 126 hits, 60 runs (54 of them earned), and 19 home runs in only 150 innings with a WHIP of 1.047. Syndergaard started in Game 2 of the 2015 National League Division