-Home- -Intro- -Batter's Perspective- -Fan's Perspective- -The Physics- -Bibliography-
=The Physics=
According
to
the laws of physics, a baseball follows a smooth arc determined by
gravity, velocity, rate of rotation, and the axis of rotation.
Also, in order to determine the ball's trajectory, the force of gravity
on the ball as well as the aerodynamic forces acting on it must be
taken into account. The "rising fastball" myth goes against
everything that the laws of physics describe. It is impossible
for any object traveling on the x-axis to suddenly rise on the path to
its destination.
A simple explanation as to why the batter experiences a "rising fastball" would be that when a pitcher is consistently throwing a baseball at a certain speed, 90mph for example, the batter learns the pattern and becomes more effective at making contact with the ball. However, when the pitcher throws the ball harder, 95mph for example, because of the speed of the ball and its location (higher than the 90mph pitch) the batter will think that the ball has suddenly jumped up in the air.
A simple explanation as to why the batter experiences a "rising fastball" would be that when a pitcher is consistently throwing a baseball at a certain speed, 90mph for example, the batter learns the pattern and becomes more effective at making contact with the ball. However, when the pitcher throws the ball harder, 95mph for example, because of the speed of the ball and its location (higher than the 90mph pitch) the batter will think that the ball has suddenly jumped up in the air.
Figure1.
Patterns
of a 90mph (triangle) and a 95mph pitch (circle)
Figure
1
Illustrates the trajectories of both pitches mentioned above.
The batter has learned the to effectively hit the 90mph pitch but when
the speed of the ball reaches 95mph, the batter swings and misses as
illustrated in figure 1.b.
Manuel Muñoz - Physics 212
Dr. David Newman
April 2011
Dr. David Newman
April 2011