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
Hour record (recumbents) record of 52.074 km (32.357 miles) this time on the M5 Carbon High-Racer recumbent. These records are recognized by the WRRA World Recumbent Racing Association. Details of the race weekend here: Barbara Buatois of France set two Ladies Unfaired Recumbent One-Hour records within two weeks in October 2009. She rode a Zockra Le Rapide recumbent. At the Apeldoorn event on October 17, 2009, she rode 46.048 km (28.613 miles), a mark which would have also broken the long-standing men's record of Francis Faure from 1933. Two weeks later, at the Velodrome du Lac in Bordeaux, France, Buatois rode 46.348 km