Directed by: Jonathan Hock
Starring: Kevin Costner, Derek Jeter, Nolan Ryan
Rated: -[PG]
Watch the trailer
Plot
A look at baseball's most ferocious pitch, the fastball, with players, archival footage, and even scientists.
Verdict
This will mean more to a fan of baseball, though surprisingly it has a fair amount of pseudo-science. This isn't an ESPN 30 for 30 that tells a compelling story. This is about one single pitch. The main question is who threw or throws the fastest and how do you approximate for the the pre-radar gun days. It comes to a conclusion with plenty of footage and interviews along the way.
It depends.
Review
This is a fun romp through history. Hitting the fastball is difficult, and there's nothing like clocking triple digits in speed.
There have been many attempts to clock the fastest guys. Bob Feller threw a ball against a speeding motorcycle. Walter Johnson went to a military base and Bob Feller had a military contraption set up on the field. Aroldis Chapman clocked 105 on a modern radar gun.
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| Fastball - For fans of the game. |
There is a round table discussion at the Hall of Fame that includes George Brett and Tony Gwynn. Unfortunately, Gwynn doesn't say much and the segments are always short. It could have been a great segment, but it doesn't do much.
Fastball explores the myth of the rising fastball and the fastest that never was, Steve Dalkowski. Nolan Ryan is one of the last segments. This guy threw 150-170 pitches on average, many times 300 innings a year for 27 years. It's astounding when compared to today's limited pitch counts and concern for injury.
The movie concludes trying to definitively rank the fastest pitchers ever. It's an approximation for sure, you'll have to check it out to see who threw the hottest heater.
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