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Four-seam fastball

December 15, 2023

A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is called what it is because with every rotation of the ball as it is thrown, four seams come into view.[1] A few pitchers at the major league level can sometimes reach a pitch speed of over 100 mph. It is often compared with the two-seam fastball.[2]

Chris Young with the San Diego Padres throws a straight-overhead four-seam fastball during a pregame bullpen warmup.
An animated diagram of a four-seam fastball

Grip and action edit

 
Finger grip on a four-seam fastball
 
Finger grip on a four-seam fastball

The four-seam fastball is designed purely for velocity; it travels to the batter's box with little or no "break" from straight-line flight—the intent being to challenge the batter's reaction time instead of fooling him with a pitch that breaks downward or to one side or the other. The ball is gripped with the index and middle fingers set on or across a line (cross-seam) of the "horseshoe" seam that faces outward, i.e., away from the pitcher's body. The thumb is placed directly underneath the ball; it rests on smooth leather with the base of the thumb overlaying a seam on the underside of the ball.[3]

The four-seam fastball typically is thrown with a straight overhead swing of the throwing arm. The ball leaves the thumb at the top of the throwing motion as the index and middle fingers play their grip on the "top" seam to roll it down the "back" of the ball, which imparts backspin to the ball that lasts the distance of the pitch. The backspin affects the exchange of momentum between ball and surrounding air such that a lifting force called the Magnus effect offsets the downward pull of gravity on the ball; thus a hard-thrown fastball doesn't drop as much as other types of pitches and may even appear to rise as it approaches the plate. Further, backspin combined with the steady rotation of four seams in alignment with the direction of the pitch stabilizes the ball's flight-path.

A successful four-seam fastball overpowers the batter with velocity, normally zipping through the strike zone before the batter can timely commit to swing. The faster a four-seamer pitch is accurately thrown, the more effective it will be. It is very difficult for a batter to get "around on" the pitch—to quickly swing the bat around to meet the ball—because they must swing very early to "catch up" to the speedy pitch. One of the most dramatic and frequent scenes in baseball are tableaux of frustrated batters helplessly swinging "empty" on a fastball that has already passed the hitting zone, and frequently, has already made the catcher's mitt.

Conversely, because the four-seamer doesn't break, it is quite hittable by the quick, "good-eye" batter who can "see" where the pitch will arrive. Moreover, its extreme velocity helps experienced batters to hit it extremely hard; that is, if a batter can "square up" on it, a four-seamer pitch can be readily hit for power. Further, a fastball's effectiveness decreases substantially if it is not accurately thrown, i.e., if the pitch is not under control. Due to its straight and level flight an errant fastball will not fool many batters as to its direction; thus, it elicits fewer swings and produces more walks when thrown outside the strike zone. As a pitcher's fastball loses "heat" (speed), more batters will have sufficient time to read and hit the pitch.

Pitching or throwing a fastball comes naturally to most athletes who throw baseballs. The four-seam and two-seam fastballs are typically the first pitches taught to young pitchers. They requires very little unnatural motion of the arm, elbow or shoulders, and the ball comes off the fingers easily when the pitch is completed as it is intended to be thrown. The fastball is the most common of pitches, as almost all pitchers throw a fastball as part of their standard repertoire.

Scientific studies have shown that the four-seam and two-seam fastballs have essentially the same flight paths and speeds,[4] but, typically, a batter perceives a difference between them. The perceived difference is due to flicker fusion threshold, which is defined as the frequency that a flashing light appears "steady" to the human eye. For example, for a series of flashed still-pictures to appear steady, the frequency of flashing has to be at a rate greater than the flicker fusion threshold, which for humans is about 60 Hz, or 60 cycles per second.

A major league pitcher throws a baseball with a spin of around 20 rotations per second (rps). With each rotation, a four-seam fastball presents four seams crossing the vision of the batter, producing a flicker rate of 80 Hz, which results in the batter not perceiving any features on the ball and having fewer visual cues than with the two-seamer to track it. Thus, the batter often perceives the four-seam fastball as faster and higher than a two-seam fastball.[5]

Measuring a four-seam fastball edit

Velocity edit

The velocity of a 4 seam fastball is measured in miles per hours (mph) in Major League Baseball.  As of 2018, the average velocity of a Major League Baseball pitcher was 92.8 mph.[6]

Spin rate edit

The spin rate of a 4 seam fastball is measured in rotations per minute (rpms) in Major League Baseball.[7]

SPV edit

Commonly referred to as “Bauer Units” (slang invented by Driveline Baseball), SPV is defined as Spin Rate per Velocity. This metric allows research to compare the quality of 4 seam fastballs of different pitchers throughout Major League Baseball.[8]

On the field edit

Four-seam fastball is also the most preferred throw for fielding as it is the fastest and has no stray lateral movement in the air, according to Harold Reynolds and Kevin Kiermaier.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ "What is a Four-Seam Fastball (FA)?". mlb.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  2. ^ Kindall, Jerry (1988). Baseball: Play the Winning Way. Time, Inc. ISBN 1-56800-000-6.
  3. ^ "Four Seam Fastball Grip".
  4. ^ Bahill, A. Terry; Baldwin, David G.; Venkateswaran, Jayendran (2005). "Predicting a Baseball's Path: A batter watches the pitcher's motion plus the spin on the ball to calculate when and where it will cross the plate". American Scientist. 93 (3): 218–225. JSTOR 27858576. S2CID 14223113.
  5. ^ Biomedical Engineering Principles is Sports, G. Hung and J. Pallis (Eds)), Kluwer Academic, 2004, pp. 257-287
  6. ^ Sullivan, Jeff (February 12, 2019). "The Velocity Surge Has Plateaued". Fan Graphs.
  7. ^ Neiswender, Kaitlyn (January 31, 2019). "A Deeper Dive Into Fastball Spin Rate". Driveline.
  8. ^ Jinji, Tsutomu (August 8, 2017). "An Index to Gauge the Quality of a Four-Seam Fastball". FanGraphs.
  9. ^ Arenado's Diving Play, Throw, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2019-09-11

December 15, 2023
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A four seam fastball also called a rising fastball a four seamer or a cross seam fastball is a pitch in baseball It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest i e fastest ball thrown by a pitcher It is called what it is because with every rotation of the ball as it is thrown four seams come into view 1 A few pitchers at the major league level can sometimes reach a pitch speed of over 100 mph It is often compared with the two seam fastball 2 Chris Young with the San Diego Padres throws a straight overhead four seam fastball during a pregame bullpen warmup An animated diagram of a four seam fastball Contents 1 Grip and action 2 Measuring a four seam fastball 2 1 Velocity 2 2 Spin rate 2 3 SPV 3 On the field 4 ReferencesGrip and action edit nbsp Finger grip on a four seam fastball nbsp Finger grip on a four seam fastballThe four seam fastball is designed purely for velocity it travels to the batter s box with little or no break from straight line flight the intent being to challenge the batter s reaction time instead of fooling him with a pitch that breaks downward or to one side or the other The ball is gripped with the index and middle fingers set on or across a line cross seam of the horseshoe seam that faces outward i e away from the pitcher s body The thumb is placed directly underneath the ball it rests on smooth leather with the base of the thumb overlaying a seam on the underside of the ball 3 The four seam fastball typically is thrown with a straight overhead swing of the throwing arm The ball leaves the thumb at the top of the throwing motion as the index and middle fingers play their grip on the top seam to roll it down the back of the ball which imparts backspin to the ball that lasts the distance of the pitch The backspin affects the exchange of momentum between ball and surrounding air such that a lifting force called the Magnus effect offsets the downward pull of gravity on the ball thus a hard thrown fastball doesn t drop as much as other types of pitches and may even appear to rise as it approaches the plate Further backspin combined with the steady rotation of four seams in alignment with the direction of the pitch stabilizes the ball s flight path A successful four seam fastball overpowers the batter with velocity normally zipping through the strike zone before the batter can timely commit to swing The faster a four seamer pitch is accurately thrown the more effective it will be It is very difficult for a batter to get around on the pitch to quickly swing the bat around to meet the ball because they must swing very early to catch up to the speedy pitch One of the most dramatic and frequent scenes in baseball are tableaux of frustrated batters helplessly swinging empty on a fastball that has already passed the hitting zone and frequently has already made the catcher s mitt Conversely because the four seamer doesn t break it is quite hittable by the quick good eye batter who can see where the pitch will arrive Moreover its extreme velocity helps experienced batters to hit it extremely hard that is if a batter can square up on it a four seamer pitch can be readily hit for power Further a fastball s effectiveness decreases substantially if it is not accurately thrown i e if the pitch is not under control Due to its straight and level flight an errant fastball will not fool many batters as to its direction thus it elicits fewer swings and produces more walks when thrown outside the strike zone As a pitcher s fastball loses heat speed more batters will have sufficient time to read and hit the pitch Pitching or throwing a fastball comes naturally to most athletes who throw baseballs The four seam and two seam fastballs are typically the first pitches taught to young pitchers They requires very little unnatural motion of the arm elbow or shoulders and the ball comes off the fingers easily when the pitch is completed as it is intended to be thrown The fastball is the most common of pitches as almost all pitchers throw a fastball as part of their standard repertoire Scientific studies have shown that the four seam and two seam fastballs have essentially the same flight paths and speeds 4 but typically a batter perceives a difference between them The perceived difference is due to flicker fusion threshold which is defined as the frequency that a flashing light appears steady to the human eye For example for a series of flashed still pictures to appear steady the frequency of flashing has to be at a rate greater than the flicker fusion threshold which for humans is about 60 Hz or 60 cycles per second A major league pitcher throws a baseball with a spin of around 20 rotations per second rps With each rotation a four seam fastball presents four seams crossing the vision of the batter producing a flicker rate of 80 Hz which results in the batter not perceiving any features on the ball and having fewer visual cues than with the two seamer to track it Thus the batter often perceives the four seam fastball as faster and higher than a two seam fastball 5 Measuring a four seam fastball editVelocity edit The velocity of a 4 seam fastball is measured in miles per hours mph in Major League Baseball As of 2018 the average velocity of a Major League Baseball pitcher was 92 8 mph 6 Spin rate edit The spin rate of a 4 seam fastball is measured in rotations per minute rpms in Major League Baseball 7 SPV edit Commonly referred to as Bauer Units slang invented by Driveline Baseball SPV is defined as Spin Rate per Velocity This metric allows research to compare the quality of 4 seam fastballs of different pitchers throughout Major League Baseball 8 On the field editFour seam fastball is also the most preferred throw for fielding as it is the fastest and has no stray lateral movement in the air according to Harold Reynolds and Kevin Kiermaier 9 References edit nbsp Baseball portal What is a Four Seam Fastball FA mlb com Major League Baseball Retrieved 29 October 2017 Kindall Jerry 1988 Baseball Play the Winning Way Time Inc ISBN 1 56800 000 6 Four Seam Fastball Grip Bahill A Terry Baldwin David G Venkateswaran Jayendran 2005 Predicting a Baseball s Path A batter watches the pitcher s motion plus the spin on the ball to calculate when and where it will cross the plate American Scientist 93 3 218 225 JSTOR 27858576 S2CID 14223113 Biomedical Engineering Principles is Sports G Hung and J Pallis Eds Kluwer Academic 2004 pp 257 287 Sullivan Jeff February 12 2019 The Velocity Surge Has Plateaued Fan Graphs Neiswender Kaitlyn January 31 2019 A Deeper Dive Into Fastball Spin Rate Driveline Jinji Tsutomu August 8 2017 An Index to Gauge the Quality of a Four Seam Fastball FanGraphs Arenado s Diving Play Throw archived from the original on 2021 12 21 retrieved 2019 09 11 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Four seam fastball amp oldid 1177357957, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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