Well played baseball is largely a game of illusions.
1. The basic pitch in baseball is the eponymously named 'the fastball.' How fast? The hardest throwers can get the ball to a velocity of 100 mph as it crosses the plate.
a. " SAN DIEGO –Aroldis Chapman(notes)was summoned from the bullpen one batter too late to make a difference in the game. No matter. The 22-year-oldCincinnati Redsleft-hander made do by making history Friday night, throwing the fastest pitch recorded in a major league game, a 105-mph fastball."
Chapman throws fastest pitch ever recorded
"He holds the record for the fastest recorded pitch speed in MLB history at 105 mph (169 km/h),[2] and also reached 106 mph (170.6 km/h) in another game, although this speed is disputed.[3]" Aroldis Chapman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
b. The Yankees just traded for Chapman.
" The Yankees now have one of baseball’s most formidable bullpens, teaming Chapman, a four-time All-Star, with Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances. Those players ranked first, second and third instrikeouts per nine inningsamong pitchers who threw at least 40 innings last season.
It is uncertain, though, whether Chapman — whose fastball has been routinely clocked at 103 miles per hour, the fastest in the majors — will be part of that group to begin the season."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/s...w-york-yankees-from-cincinnati-reds.html?_r=0
2. Since the ball slows down over the course of the 56 feet or so, from pitcher to catcher, its speed is about 8 mph greater when it starts out, losing about 1 mph every 7 feet. In addition to speed, backspin applied causes the ball to appear to rise, or hop. At 1600 rpm, it will rotate about 10 times during its journey, with a hop of about 7 inches- more than enough to confuse a hitter.
a. As the batter must begin his swing when the ball is less than one third of the way to the plate, and at that point the hop is only about 3/4 of an inch. The greatest movement of the ball occurs during the last 15 feet.
3. For professional pitchers, variation is the key to success. Two fastballs, thrown with the same trajectory and the same velocity, will appear differently if thrown with different backspin rates: comparing one with an 1800 rpm backspin with one with a 1200 rpm rate, the difference between the two trajectories at the plate, will be about 2 and a 1/2 inches. So, if the batter guesses that path is that of the lesser rpm ball, but is the greater, the ball will 'hop' over his bat.
a. In reality, the ball drops some 2 and a half feet from the hand of the pitcher to that of the catcher....so, where is the 'hop'? It is the rise from an anticipated straight line from the pitcher's hand, by the batter. Bear in mind, that straight line could only exist if the game were played in outer space, where there is neither gravity nor air.
4. Another alteration used by some pitchers is the release of the ball with an extra left-right component of spin, which accentuates a sideways break. This is called a 'cut' fastball.
a. If the pitcher throws a 90-mph fastball sidearm, or even a three-quarter motion, using a sidespin rather than backspin, the curve will be from left to right (for a right-handed pitcher), and move about six inches.
From Robert Adair's "The Physics of Baseball," chapter four.
1. The basic pitch in baseball is the eponymously named 'the fastball.' How fast? The hardest throwers can get the ball to a velocity of 100 mph as it crosses the plate.
a. " SAN DIEGO –Aroldis Chapman(notes)was summoned from the bullpen one batter too late to make a difference in the game. No matter. The 22-year-oldCincinnati Redsleft-hander made do by making history Friday night, throwing the fastest pitch recorded in a major league game, a 105-mph fastball."
Chapman throws fastest pitch ever recorded
"He holds the record for the fastest recorded pitch speed in MLB history at 105 mph (169 km/h),[2] and also reached 106 mph (170.6 km/h) in another game, although this speed is disputed.[3]" Aroldis Chapman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
b. The Yankees just traded for Chapman.
" The Yankees now have one of baseball’s most formidable bullpens, teaming Chapman, a four-time All-Star, with Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances. Those players ranked first, second and third instrikeouts per nine inningsamong pitchers who threw at least 40 innings last season.
It is uncertain, though, whether Chapman — whose fastball has been routinely clocked at 103 miles per hour, the fastest in the majors — will be part of that group to begin the season."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/s...w-york-yankees-from-cincinnati-reds.html?_r=0
2. Since the ball slows down over the course of the 56 feet or so, from pitcher to catcher, its speed is about 8 mph greater when it starts out, losing about 1 mph every 7 feet. In addition to speed, backspin applied causes the ball to appear to rise, or hop. At 1600 rpm, it will rotate about 10 times during its journey, with a hop of about 7 inches- more than enough to confuse a hitter.
a. As the batter must begin his swing when the ball is less than one third of the way to the plate, and at that point the hop is only about 3/4 of an inch. The greatest movement of the ball occurs during the last 15 feet.
3. For professional pitchers, variation is the key to success. Two fastballs, thrown with the same trajectory and the same velocity, will appear differently if thrown with different backspin rates: comparing one with an 1800 rpm backspin with one with a 1200 rpm rate, the difference between the two trajectories at the plate, will be about 2 and a 1/2 inches. So, if the batter guesses that path is that of the lesser rpm ball, but is the greater, the ball will 'hop' over his bat.
a. In reality, the ball drops some 2 and a half feet from the hand of the pitcher to that of the catcher....so, where is the 'hop'? It is the rise from an anticipated straight line from the pitcher's hand, by the batter. Bear in mind, that straight line could only exist if the game were played in outer space, where there is neither gravity nor air.
4. Another alteration used by some pitchers is the release of the ball with an extra left-right component of spin, which accentuates a sideways break. This is called a 'cut' fastball.
a. If the pitcher throws a 90-mph fastball sidearm, or even a three-quarter motion, using a sidespin rather than backspin, the curve will be from left to right (for a right-handed pitcher), and move about six inches.
From Robert Adair's "The Physics of Baseball," chapter four.
