Now, people longing to play baseball are no longer relegated to softball because of a new game called fastball. Fastball, a game invented by Steve Sigler of Jericho, originator of Men's Senior Baseball, and Val Lewis of Elk Grove, California, blends some of the best features of baseball and softball into a new game that can be played by people of any age or gender.

Played on a standard softball field, fastball features overhand pitching at speeds regulated by a radar gun. Pitchers are not allowed to throw breaking pitches. The ball used in fastball is a reduced impact ball, slightly larger than a baseball but smaller than a softball, making it easier to grip and throw. National Fastball sponsor Rawlings Sporting Goods has specially developed the ball.

Fastball is safer than softball or baseball because of the ball's reduced impact and the fact that only wood bats are used. Fastball is played in 75 minutes or seven innings whichever comes first. Three balls for a walk and two strikes for a strikeout make the game move quickly. There are different speed divisions to accommodate different skills. Fastball offers more of the strategy of baseball than slow pitch softball and more offense than fast pitch softball.

The United States Fastball Association, a non-profit corporation, is the owner and sanctioning authority of Fastball. The USFA standardizes rules, seeks national sponsorships to provide members with equipment discounts and sponsors regional and national tournaments. Five-time Major League All-Star second baseman Steve Sax is the national spokesman for fastball and calls it "the most exciting new game to be invented in 100 years" and goes on to say, "This is a game I will still be able to play when I am a grandfather, and - compared to softball - I don't have to give up a lot of the excitement of baseball to play it." The USFA slogan is,"If you like softball, you'll love fastball".

"I don't know any men between the ages of 21 and 60 who started out playing softball. They all started out playing baseball. Why did they give up baseball? Why have they played softball for all these years? They played softball because it was supposed to be easier, safer and a less time consuming facsimile of what they really wanted to play -- baseball! Over the years, however, softball has permutated so much that it no longer offers just those things that attracted people to it because they still wanted to play baseball. Aluminum bats send super hard "softballs" at fielders who are no more than 60 feet away at speeds rocketing over 100 miles per hour. Fast pitch softball pitchers can strike out 20 batters per game. Arc pitch softball, where pitching is irrelevant, is nothing more than home run derby", says Great Neck resident Tim Hott who has been in the adult recreational baseball business for 15 years and is the New York Regional Director for the USFA.

Fastball is already being played on Long Island. The first fastball league on the east coast, sponsored by the Town of Oyster Bay, just finished its inaugural season and will play again next spring. A fastball league in Sacramento, California has started and another will shortly in Chino Hills, California. Tim is in the process of trying to entice the Great Neck Park District and Nassau County into sponsoring fastball leagues. It has been many years since the Old Great Neck Community Softball League died due to lack of interest. Nassau County also ended its county sponsored softball league for the same reason.

Tim thinks the time is right for a new sport to take hold and is hoping to have demonstration games next spring where players can try the game. Anyone interested in playing fastball or just learning more about this "newest game in town" can visit the national website at usfastball.com or call Tim: (800) 807-1800 or Ed Cantor (516) 662-3671.