Fastball

2016 baseball documentary

Rating: 14/20

Plot: A look at the appeal, the science, and the history of the fastball.

This is likely for baseball fans only, and a lot of them will already know a lot of the stories covered here. The organization of the material felt a little jumpy to me, but the mix of archival footage, beautiful contemporary footage (especially a lot of the slow-motion stuff), and staged things. Toward the end, you wonder if this was a propaganda piece put together by Nolan Ryan, a man with a giant peanut for a head, but it's a fun look at a variety of major league legends--Bob Gibson, Goose Gossage, Walter Johnson, Bob Feller, a bunch of modern guys. Most interesting might be the sad tale of Steve Dalkowski, the "fastest that never was." Recommended for baseball fans.