The Physics Of Baseball

Blending scientific fact and sports trivia, Robert Adair examines what a baseball or player in motion does-and why. How fast can a batted ball go? What effect do stitch patterns have on wind resistance? How far does a curve ball break? Who reaches first base faster after a bunt, a right- or left-handed batter? The answers are often surprising—and always illuminating. This newly revised third edition considers recent developments in the science of sport such as the neurophysiology of batting, bat vibration, and the character of the "sweet spot." Faster pitchers, longer hitters, and enclosed stadiums also get a good, hard scientific look to determine their effects on the game. Filled with anecdotes about famous players and incidents, The Physics of Baseball provides fans with fascinating insights into America's favorite pastime.

This book describes the physics of baseball and softball, assuming that the reader has a basic background in both physics and mathematics. The physics will be explained in a conversational style, with words and illustrations, so that the explanations make sense. The book provides an excellent opportunity to explain physics at a relatively simple level, even though the primary objective is to explain the many subtle features concerning the physics of baseball. For those readers who already know quite a bit of physics and who will be comfortable with mathematical equations, additional material of this nature will be provided in appendices. The latest research findings and statistical data have been incorporated by the author. The book also contains many simple experiments that the reader can perform to convince themselves that the effects described do indeed exist.

In The Science of Baseball, sportswriter and injury expert Will Carroll shows how understanding the science behind the Great American Pastime helps fans appreciate its nuances and that it enhances, not detracts from the greatest game ever invented. Carroll, as well as several experts via interviews, covers topics like what makes the ball break, bounce, and fly; how material science and physics work together to make the bat function; how hitters use physics, geometry, and force to connect; sensors and cameras; injuries; and much more. Baseball aficionados and science geeks alike will better appreciate the game--no matter which teams are playing--after reading this comprehensive book!

The Physics of Pitching is a well-rounded and comprehensive study that explores the formula for success in pitching and the secret to staying healthy and injury free. It brings together the expertise of a professional scout and pitching consultant, a former major league pitcher and current pitching coach, a sports orthopedic surgeon, and a strength and conditioning specialist. Step-by-step instruction is combined with a discussion of the fundamentals of pitching mechanics and kinetics, physiology and orthopedics, weight training, and the mental and strategic sides of baseball. The Physics of Pitching is illustrated throughout with step-by-step photography and detailed illustrations of the key mechanics.

This book describes the dynamic collisions between baseballs, softballs, and bats, and the intricate modeling of these interactions, using only Newton’s basic principles and the conservation laws of physics. Veteran baseball science author Terry Bahill explains models for the speed and spin of balls and bats and equations for bat-ball collisions at a level accessible to high school and undergraduate physics students, engineering students, and, most importantly, students of the science of baseball. Unlike other, more technical accounts of these phenomena that exhibit similar rigor, the models presented in this volume use only basic physical principles to describe simple collision configurations. Elucidating the most important factors for understanding bat performance—bat weight, moment of inertia, the coefficient of restitution, and characteristics of humans swinging the bats, Dr. Bahill also explains physical aspects of the ideal bat and the sweet spot. • Explains how to select or design an optimal baseball or softball bat and create models for bat-ball collisions using only fundamental principles of mechanics from high school physics; • Describes the results of the collision between baseball and bat using basic mathematics such as equations for the speed of the ball after the collision, bat speed after the collision, and bat rotation after the collision; •Accessible to high school and undergraduate students as well as non-technical aficionados of the science of baseball. “Dr. Bahill’s book is the perfect tool for teaching how to solve some of baseball’s basic science problems. Using only simple Newtonian principles and the conservation laws, Dr. Bahill explains how to model bat-ball collisions. Also, he derives equations governing the flight of the ball, and proceeds to show what factors affect air density and how this density affects the ball’s flight. And as a unique addition to his fine book, he provides advice for selecting the optimal bat—a surprising bonus!” Dave Baldwin, PhD Major League pitcher, 1966-1973, lifetime Major League ERA, 3.08 “If I were the General Manger of a baseball team, I would tell my people to write a ten-page paper describing what this book contains that could improve our performance. I think the book provides the foundation for change.” Bruce Gissing Executive VP-Operations (retired) Boeing Commercial Airplanes “[I] had a chance to read your research, and I fully agree with your findings.” Baseball Legend Ted Williams, in a 1984 letter to the author

This book presents a scientific but easy to understand explanation of pitching power. Illustrated with anecdotes about baseball's greatest power pitchers, it describes how they were able to achieve phenomenal fastball velocity and record-breaking strikeout numbers. How was a 17-year-old rookie named Bob Feller able to strike out Major League batters in record numbers? How do the tendons, ligaments, and muscles of the arm and shoulder work to amplify power for greater pitch velocity? How was minor league pitcher Steve Dalkowski able to throw the most phenomenal fastball ever seen (or heard)? Why do young pitchers with exceptional velocity often issue walks at exceptional rates? Why do good pitchers occasionally pitch badly? Why is exceptional hand speed important? What is it about overhand throwing that causes elbow and shoulder injuries? How can a pitcher achieve greater endurance and durability? What is the most reliable way to increase fastball velocity? This book addresses these and other questions for pitchers, coaches, managers, trainers, and fans.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From The New York Times baseball columnist, an enchanting, enthralling history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than three hundred people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today. The baseball is an amazing plaything. We can grip it and hold it so many different ways, and even the slightest calibration can turn an ordinary pitch into a weapon to thwart the greatest hitters in the world. Each pitch has its own history, evolving through the decades as the masters pass it down to the next generation. From the earliest days of the game, when Candy Cummings dreamed up the curveball while flinging clamshells on a Brooklyn beach, pitchers have never stopped innovating. In K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, Tyler Kepner traces the colorful stories and fascinating folklore behind the ten major pitches. Each chapter highlights a different pitch, from the blazing fastball to the fluttering knuckleball to the slippery spitball. Infusing every page with infectious passion for the game, Kepner brings readers inside the minds of combatants sixty feet, six inches apart. Filled with priceless insights from many of the best pitchers in baseball history--from Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, and Nolan Ryan to Greg Maddux, Mariano Rivera, and Clayton Kershaw--K will be the definitive book on pitching and join such works as The Glory of Their Times and Moneyball as a classic of the genre.

"Keep your eye on the ball!" may be good advice--but it is impossible to do. The batter can track the ball until it is about five feet in front of the plate, but then he falls behind because the ball is moving too fast. In Keep Your Eye on the Ball, Robert G. Watts and A. Terry Bahill--engineers by vocation, baseball fans by avocation--have devised a series of experiments that put some of baseball's most cherished myths to the test. By applying physics, psychology, physiology, and other scientific principles to baseball, the authors have resolved, once and for all, some of the controversial issues that have intrigued fans for decades, including: * Do curveballs really curve? Do fastballs rise? * How do knuckleballs and spitballs work? * What exactly happens when the ball hits the bat? * Does corking the bat really help a hitter? * Are aluminum bats more dangerous than wooden bats? * Can certain physiological factors help predict success for a hitter? * Why are more home runs being hit than ever before? * Are today's players better than yesterday's? Completely revised and updated to include recent statistics, new research, and additional historical commentary, Keep Your Eye on the Ball is a highly informative and entertaining guide to the science of baseball that all fans of the game--regardless of scientific background--will enjoy.