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
TGV world speed record final record attempt took place on 18 May 1990, with dignitaries, and journalists joining the usual complement of technicians on board the train. The 325 started its run at 9:51 from Dangeau and accelerated for 15 minutes, achieving a top speed of 515.3 km/h (320.3 mph) at the bottom of the hill at kilometer post 166.8. At the conclusion of the test campaign, the train had reached top speeds in excess of 500 km/h on nine separate occasions, including the world speed record. Operation V150, where 150 again refers to a target speed in metres per second, was a series