Fastball documentary is a great look at the world’s hardest pitch

I’m a baseball fan… well, OK, let me correct myself. I’m a “lapsed” baseball fan. I still watch some of the playoff games, especially when my team the Atlanta Braves are playing… which means I haven’t watched those games in a while.

My mother and father in law are dedicated baseball watchers, and I envy them: They are (mostly) retired and so baseball is something they have time to enjoy and savor. I… well, I hardly have time to watch anything anymore, and baseball is a big time-investment (I have the same opinion towards the NFL, BTW).

As much as I have drifted away from the sport, I still appreciate the game, especially the very pure aspect of pitcher vs. catcher. This aspect of the game is unmatched in any other sport, save for maybe Cricket… and then the matchup is so weirdly complicated it loses a lot. And when you think of pitching, you have to look at the fastball. And that is just what the recent documentary, Aptly named Fastball, did.

Through archival footage and modern interviews, it covers the fastball pitch in all its forms – it even looks at all the “fastest pitchers” throughout the years (and concludes, definitively, who the fastest one REALLY was – at least, I think it does).

Narrated by Kevin Costner (of course), the film is a wonderful look at the personalities and the challenges of hitting a really well placed fastball. If anyone thinks that baseball isn’t hard… well, they should watch this documentary.

It’s on various streaming services, and recommended.

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