Baseball Two-Seam Fastball

• Outline
  • Rules
  • Baseball field
  • Equipment
  • Player rosters
  • Non players
  • Distinctive elements
  • Defensive Players
    • Pitcher (P)
    • Catcher (C)
    • First Baseman (1B)
    • Second Baseman (2B)
    • Third Baseman (3B)
    • Shortstop (SS)
    • Left Fielder (LF)
    • Center Fielder (CF)
    • Right Fielder (RF)
  • Offensive Players
    • Batter
    • Runner
    • Designated Hitter
    • Pinch Hitter
    • Pinch Runner
    • Lead Off
    • Lead Off Hitter
    • Cleanup Hitter
• Gameplay
  • Defensive Play
  • Offensive Play
  • Batting order (1-9)
  • Strategy and tactics
  • Game progress
  • Batting
  • Pitching
  • Base running
  • Fielding

A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball, but the general movement of a screwball. It is a close relative to the sinker.

Grip and action

Several different grips are used for a two-seam fastball, the most common of which is to place the index and middle fingers along the seams where they are closest together (where the horseshoes point in towards each other) with the thumb placed directly below on the leather with the rear of the thumb just touching the bottom near seam. The arm action is identical to a four-seam fastball, although the hand action differs slightly. Typically, the two-seam has more movement if the pitcher applies index fingertip pressure, or holds the baseball deeper in the hand. Both techniques cause the ball to spin out of the hand off-center and away from the pitcher, similar to the spin of a changeup.

The two-seam fastball often is perceived to be slower than the four-seam fastball, but the slight pronation of the hand and off-center spin on the ball carries the ball down and toward the pitcher's dominant side, down and to the right for right-handers, and down and to the left for left-handers.

Effectiveness

The two-seam fastball appears to have more movement than a four-seam fastball, but can be more difficult to master and control. The amount of break on the pitch varies greatly from pitcher to pitcher depending on velocity, arm slot angle, and pressure points of the fingers. The two-seamer is a very natural pitch to throw, and is often taught to pitchers at a very early age. Its use is widespread throughout all levels of baseball, and most pitchers at any level have a two-seamer in their repertoire. Many pitchers, especially those without exceptional velocity, prefer a two-seam fastball to the four-seam because of its movement at the plate. However, power pitchers such as Justin Verlander combine control, high velocity, and break to make the two-seamer one of the most effective pitches in baseball.

The velocity of this pitch also varies greatly from pitcher to pitcher. At the major collegiate level and higher, two-seam fastballs are typically thrown in the low 90s (MPH), but with much variation.

• Outline
  

  SPORTS WORLD

  Baseball

  Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.

  Rules and gameplay: A game is played between two teams, each comprising nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding).

  Baseball field: A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played.

  Equipment: A rounded, solid wooden or hollow aluminum bat. Wooden bats are traditionally made from ash wood, though maple and bamboo is also sometimes used.

  Player rosters: Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different levels of organized play. Major League Baseball teams maintain 25-player active rosters.

  Non players: In the game of baseball, the official scorer is a person appointed by the league to record the events on the field, and to send the official scoring record of the game back to the league offices.

  Distinctive elements: Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following, including American and Canadian football, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer.

  Defensive Play: Baseball is unlike most other competitive sports in that the defense is given control of the ball.

  Offensive Play: Batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher.

  Batting order (1-9): The batting order or batting lineup is the sequence in which the members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher.

  Strategy and tactics: Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.

• Baseball Positions
  

  SPORTS WORLD

  Baseball Positions

  At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players on the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound.

  Defensive Players

  Pitcher (P): The pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk.

  Catcher (C): When a batter takes his/her turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher.

  First Baseman (1B): First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team.

  Second Baseman (2B): The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must be able to make the pivot on a double play.

  Third Baseman (3B): The third baseman requires good reflexes in reacting to batted balls, as he or she is often the closest infielder (roughly 90–120 feet) to the batter.

  Shortstop (SS): The position is mostly filled by defensive specialists, so shortstops are generally relatively poor batters who bat later in the batting order, with some exceptions.

  Left Fielder (LF): Outfielders must cover large distances - speed, instincts, and quickness in reacting to the ball are key. They must be able to catch fly balls above their head and on the run.

  Center Fielder (CF): A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field.

  Right Fielder (RF): Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound.

   

  Offensive Players

  Batter: A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, drive runners home, or advance runners along the bases for others to drive home.

  Runner: In general, base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run.

  Designated Hitter: The rule allows teams to have one player, known as the designated hitter (abbreviated DH), to bat in place of the pitcher.

  Pinch Hitter: Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute.

  Pinch Runner: The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted.

  Lead Off: A lead or lead off is the short distance that a player stands away from their current base.

  Lead Off Hitter: Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must reach base at a proficient on-base percentage rate and be able to steal bases.

  Cleanup Hitter: Cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the bases", hence the name.

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles "Baseball" and "Two-seam fastball", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.