the.com/fastpitch
Softball's fast lane, where the pitcher is closer and more terrifying than you'd think.
means A softball variant where the pitcher throws underhand but at serious speed, from a shorter distance than baseball, making hitting a genuinely hard skill rather than a formality.
from Straightforwardly descriptive: 'fast' distinguishes it from 'slow-pitch' softball, where the ball is lobbed in a high arc. Softball itself was invented in the 1880s, reportedly starting as an indoor game improvised from a boxing glove and a broom handle, and it split over the 20th century into these two pitching philosophies — one favoring speed and strikeouts, the other favoring contact and chaos in the field.
- pitch style
- Underhand windmill, not overhand like baseball
- mound distance
- Only 43 feet from home plate
- speed illusion
- Feels faster than 90mph baseball due to distance
- dominant format
- Standard for Olympic and college softball