Fastball (2016)

With Kevin Costner narrating, lead a cast of baseball legends and scientists who explore the magic within the 396 milliseconds it takes a fastball to reach home plate, and decipher who threw the fastest pitch ever.

Director:

Jonathan Hock

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Derek Jeter, Denard Span

Cast

Credited cast:
Kevin Costner	...	Narrator
Derek Jeter	...	Himself
Denard Span	...	Himself
Craig Kimbrel	...	Himself (archive footage)
Nolan Ryan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Justin Verlander	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bryce Harper	...	Himself (archive footage)
Miguel Cabrera	...	Himself (archive footage)
Todd Frazier	...	Himself (archive footage)
Matt Harvey	...	Himself (archive footage)
Giancarlo Stanton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Yasiel Puig	...	Himself (archive footage)
Andrew McCutchen	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Price	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chris Cooper	...	Clifford Blankenship (voice)

Storyline

The essence of baseball is the primal battle between the pitcher and batter, but the magic of the game arises from that confrontation, only 396 milliseconds in the making. The mysteries and memories of Baseball's greatest heroes are revealed in FASTBALL, featuring interviews with dozens of former players, from legendary Hall of Famers to up-and-coming All-Stars, including HANK AARON, NOLAN RYAN, & DEREK JETER, and narrated by KEVIN COSTNER. Based on the original idea by the film's producer, Thomas Tull ("Dark Knight") who also produced the Jackie Robinson biopic "42," FASTBALL is peppered with archival footage of baseball's greatest moments plus original high-speed 4K footage and motion graphics that unlock the secrets hidden within a ball traveling over 100 mph. While players, historians, and scientists might disagree on who was actually the fastest pitcher in history - and yes, the film does the physics and concludes with a clear verdict - FASTBALL tells the story of the game itself.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | scientist | fast ball | baseball player | narrator | 

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Taglines:

The game is played in the blink of an eye

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Genres:

Documentary | Sport

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 March 2016 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Major League Baseball, Legendary Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nolan Ryan's actual first name is Lynn, named after his father. Nolan is his middle name.

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Quotes

Narrator: Baseball in the 21st Century. It is a game of specialists. A game molded by technology, driven by data and statistics. It's a game managers try to win by predicting what can only be guessed at, by controlling what can only be hoped for.

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Connections

Features 1978 World Series Home Video: NY Yankees vs. LA Dodgers (1978)

User Reviews

All baseball fans need to watch this

This makes one understand how fastballs reach velocities that, outside of sheer luck, literally make them unhittable as human reaction time is surpassed. Super interesting, informative, entertaining, a must see for baseball lovers. It made me appreciate the geometry of baseball more and how difficult it is to hit major league pitching. I won't be yelling at my TV next time a batter on my team strikes out in a pivotal situation, no that's not true, I will still yell but it will be a more appreciative yell, if that makes sense