<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia . See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions . (June 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia . See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions . (June 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The four - seam fastball is the most common variant of the fastball . The pitch is used often by the pitcher to get ahead in the count or when he needs to throw a strike . This type of fastball is intended to have minimal lateral movement, relying more on its velocity . It is often perceived as the fastest pitch a pitcher throws, with recorded top speeds above 100 mph . The fastest pitch recognized by MLB was on September 25, 2010, at Petco Park in San Diego by then Cincinnati Reds left - handed relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman . It was clocked at 105.1 miles per hour . April 19, 2011 Chapman lit up the stadium radar gun at 106 MPH (the TV - reading had his pitch at 105 MPH, and the pitchF / X reading was actually 102.4 MPH). Two general methods are used to throw a four - seam fastball . The first and most traditional way is to find the horseshoe seam area, or the area where the seams are the farthest apart . Keeping those seams parallel to the body, the pitcher places his index and middle fingers perpendicular to them with the pads on the farthest seam from him . The thumb then rests underneath the ball about in the middle of the two fingers . With this grip, the thumb will generally have no seam on which to rest . </P> <P> The four seam fastball is widely regarded as the main key to advancing to the next level of play . One of a baseball scouts main criteria when scouting a prospect is how fast he throws a four seam fastball . The game of baseball keeps on progressing, and as research on the physics of throwing is published and recognized, fastball velocity training has become more effective . This can be shown by looking at the average fastball velocity in the major leagues as time progresses . In 2008 the average fastball thrown in the MLB was 90.9 mph . 5 years later it had risen to 92.0 . To show the affect that this increase in velocity has had on hitters in the big leagues, we can look at the runs scored stat . In 2008, the average number of runs a team scored a game was 4.6; 5 years later as the velocity increased, the average dropped by half a run a game, to 4.0 . </P>

When is a baseball pitched at its fastest