

This is important when you can’t afford to miss a strike without sacrificing a walk. When you’re behind in the count as a pitcher, it’s a good idea to focus on throwing a 4 seam fastball to the batter. Knowing when to throw a 4 seam fastball versus a 2 seam fastball can be the difference between a strikeout, ball, or a base hit (or more!). Knowing when to throw a proper pitch when the game is on the line is something a pitcher must master. Take a look at the picture below to get a good understanding of each fastballs movement as it crosses the plate. The movements of a baseball rely on the seams as they travel through the air. There are a few different reasons why a pitcher would prefer one over the other, but the differences are pretty critical when it comes down to pitch decisions at game time. A 2 seam fastball, if thrown down the middle, will move to the left with a right handed pitcher, and to the right if you’re a left handed pitcher. So, What’s the difference between a 4 seam and 2 seam fastball? A 4 Seam Fastball will travel in a directly straight path to the plate, whereas the 2 seam fastball travels to the right or left depending on your throwing arm. While both of those particular pitches in baseball travel at high rates of speed, unlike a curveball or slider, these two types of pitches have very different movement paths.


This leads to a great melding of stats and stories that make "Fastball" multi-faceted enough to appeal to all crowds.If you’ve ever watched a baseball game, you might realize that people talk about 4 seam versus 2 seam fastballs and want to know the difference. It tries its best to answer the question scientifically, but is also smart enough to realize that people's opinions have just as much weight in the discussion as due the numbers. Overall, baseball fans will really enjoy "Fastball" for a number of reasons (and I haven't even yet mentioned the great narration from Kevin Costner!). A good solid half of "Fastball" concentrates on the scientific aspect of things, trying to quantitatively discover the fastball ball ever thrown. That isn't to say, however, that "Fastball" is all fluff.far from it! It does its best to include as much scientific analysis as possible, such as showing the methodology of the crude devices that once test the speed of pitches from Johnson, Feller, and Gibson, as well as the much more refined radar guns of today. This is much-needed for "Fastball", as the main question needs to be as much narratively-driven as scientific proved. Guys like Joe Moran, George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Johnny Bench, Bob Gibson, Goose Gossage, and Nolan Ryan are given prominent interview footage in order to hear there opinion on the matter. So, a large part of this documentary is spent talking with players who actually competed against the legends being debated. There is no way to definitively prove anything. What this film does so well is that it knows the ultimate answer to its thesis query will be "we are not sure.but here are some fun guesses". For baseball fans, the question that this documentary delves into is an age-old one: Which hurler threw the fastest pitch in the history of the game? Was it Walter Johnson nearly 100 years ago? Maybe Bob Feller? Nolan Ryan? Or how about contemporaries like Craig Kimbrel or Aroldis Chapman? "Fastball" interviews both baseball greats and scientists in order to find out the "answer".
