In baseball, the term pitch is defined as the act of throwing the baseball toward home plate where the batter is waiting to attempt a hit, thus starting a play. The term is derived from the Knickerbocker Rules, and the ball was originally pitched underhand, as one would pitch in horseshoes. Overhand pitching in baseball was disallowed in baseball until in 1884.
A variety of pitches are used in baseball, all with slightly different speed, trajectory, and angle. These variations are used to keep the batter from being aware of what to expect and are “mixed up” to keep the batter guessing. The point of all this is for the defensive team to get an “out” for the batter, thus ending their half of the inning.
Fastballs are the most common pitch used in baseball. It is simply a straight pitch that is thrown at speeds upward of 90 miles per hour (the greatest pitchers have pitches that regularly reach over 100 miles per hour). Besides a straight fastball, variations of this pitch include the cut fastball, split-finger fastball, and forkball.
Speeds can be veried as well to make a hitter lose his groove. A fast pitch followed by several slow pitches really irks a batter's timing to the point where a pitcher can dominate.
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