Physics of Baseball

1477 Words3 Pages

Missing Figures

Baseball is a fascinating sport that is exceptionally fun to play. This assignment is all about understanding the physics of a few key aspects of this sport. One might ask what physics could have to do with baseball? Like most sports baseball involves physical motion. Baseball encompasses all three planes of motion through throwing, hitting, and fielding. All of the classical laws of mechanics can be applied to understand the physics of this game.

Baseball is not a difficult game to comprehend, but it can a very long time to achieve a high level of performance. Usually one starts playing this game at a very young age and the first thing they start out with is throwing. Throwing a baseball involves exploiting all major muscle groups in the body to generate a large torque on the arm that will in turn create a high potential for speed when it is released.

Throwing

Throwing is a fairly natural activity for a person. Everyone at some point in time has thrown some object at a person. In baseball throwing becomes an art. Throwing a baseball is a relatively easy task, but throwing it accurately and with a high speed is difficult. People who play this sport spend a very long time perfecting their throw.

When one throws a baseball properly they are using there entire body to generate a large force to propel the baseball. A general throwing position starts with a person rotated 90 degrees from there target with there throwing arm 180 degrees from the target and parallel to the ground. The person then starts rotating their body back towards their target while there throwing arm starts bending until it is almost 90 degrees to their elbow, while the arm is bending at the elbow the throwing arm is rotating such that the arm rotates back almost 180 degrees from the target. Meanwhile the person is leaping forward with the leg that was initially pointed at the target while there other leg is planted into the ground. The person is bending at their waist and the other arm is rotating into their body. Around the point where the driving leg strikes the ground the throwing arm is rotating foreword at a tremendous angular speed and the person lets go of the ball. At the point where the ball is let go the persons body pulls the planted leg forward and the throwing arm finishes its motion towards the driving leg.

Show More
Related

  • Evolution Of The Curveball

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    The curveball was based on a spinning clamshell that curved across the water on a Brooklyn Beach (Fleitz, D). A curveball may not be the easiest thing to learn, but after you learn it you will never forget how to throw it. First you need to get a grip on the ball and rest your pinkie and ring finger beside the ball, this is for support and the spin. Plan on releasing the ball aiming at the catchers mask (Kendrick, S). Secondly you should wind up the same as if you were throwing a fastball. Your palm should be facing first base as the ball goes over your head. Keep your wrist cocked and rotated toward your body. Finally you want to keep your elbow up and turn your wrist, then snap your wrist down as you release the ball. The learning process will be a lot easier and quicker if you have a good coach that can help you if you can't get a motion down.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Dedication In Baseball

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    There aren't as many spots needed in baseball which makes it a little more easier and isn't time consuming such as wrestling is. Baseball is more like holding a pitch right and with the correct fluent arm motion. When wrestling is more like shooting a sweeping single and swiping the other leg out placing them on their back or stomach. Batting takes time to learn and lot of it. Its confusing if they drop their elbow on their swing and attack the ball with their hands it will take many reps to fix it. Baseball is where players get a rude awakening. No matter how amazing athletes are or think they are they always have bad technique somewhere. More than likely players will grow up playing that way. Although once they get a little higher it hits them, and it hits them hard. All those bad reps come and hit people by surprise when they got to restart from the beginning.

    Read More

  • Sabermetrics: Advanced Statistics in Baseball

    1868 Words  | 4 Pages

    The game of baseball can be divided into three broad categories: hitting, pitching, and defense. No other facet of the game gets as much attention as hitting. For example, every year the MLB puts on a home run derby. No other part of the game draws as much attention. The traditional statistic that measure hitting ability is batting average (BA or AVG). To find a players batting averag...

    Read More

  • The Physics of Baseball

    1526 Words  | 4 Pages

    A good batter will use almost all of these rotational and torque energies either before or durning contact with the ball. After contact your body is relaxed and its remaining motion is smooth, this extra motion is caused by the momentum of the bat pulling the arms up and through.Your follow through is also very important, even though the ball has already been hit it is ideal that you complete your swing so that you're not thrown off balance by that extra momentum when you start to run.

    Read More

  • The Biomechanics of Pitching

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    To many, baseball is known as America’s pastime. They find it enjoyable to watch two teams strategize against each other in order to win each individual game. Many factors combine together to affect the outcome of the game. Usually the team with the most quality hits, fewest errors, and best pitching wins. One of the most important of these factors is decent pitching. If the pitcher is struggling it’s easier for the other team to get on base and score.

    Read More

  • The Physics of Cheating in Baseball

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    My science report is about whether a corked aluminum bat hits a ball farther than a regular aluminum bat. But first before I get into that boring science stuff, I’ll tell you about the history of baseball. Baseball originated in American before the Civil War (1861-1865) the game was called rounders and was played in sand lots. The first professional team was founded in Cincinnati in 1869. During the 1950’s and 60’s the MLB really took off, it was a time for expansion for the American league and National league. Then new turf fields and new bigger stadiums changed the game forever in the 80’s, But in the 90’s it was all about getting home runs. There have been 245,913 home runs hit in MLB history, and that’s where the physics of cheating in baseball comes in.

    Read More

  • The Softball Swing

    2506 Words  | 6 Pages

    The purpose of this paper is to describe the softball swing anatomically, mechanically, and analytically. By analyzing each move one makes when...

    Read More

  • Book Report on Baseball: A History of America's Game by Benjamin G. Rader

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Baseball has been of the longest living sports in our world today. The game started with the idea of a stick and ball and now has become one of the most complex sports known in our society. Several rules and regulations have been added to help enhance the game for everyone. Although baseball has endured several issues during its history and development of the game the game has still been a success throughout the world.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: How To Hit A Baseball

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    It’s a Sunday afternoon and the whole family is over at grandmother’s house playing a fun game of pickup baseball until they realize they do not know how to hit a baseball. Luckily, it is a rather simple process that can easily be taught and learned. Hitting a baseball is not nearly as hard as it seems. Professional baseball players make hitting a baseball either look very easy or extremely hard. To begin the process, the following items are needed: a bat, a baseball, and baseball gloves so that the hit baseball can be caught.

    Read More

  • Baseball As A Mental Game: The Dangers Of Baseball

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    Baseball is known as America’s national pastime, and has been played for over 100 years. Baseball can be a lot of fun, but is also extremely challenging to play, especially trying to hit a 90 mile per hour fastball. I am a very devoted baseball player myself, and over the years I have learned numerous key things about the game. Baseball does not only require physical strength to hit and throw the ball, but it also requires a great mindset, such as, mental preparedness, concentration, and a positive attitude.

    Read More

  • How To Throw A Baseball Essay

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throwing a baseball is a lot like throwing any other object. Children grow up throwing things around the house, and it very similar to how you throw a baseball. From a young age, I grew up throwing objects around the house. My father was smart enough to recognize this trend and sign me up for baseball later on when I was much older. To throw a baseball you first need to understand the shape of the object. The baseball has seams around the circumference which are placed around the outer edges of the baseball for added grip. Before we get into the types of pitches and grips, we need to understand the arm and body movement. The movement of your body and arms happens in many steps that follow a fluid form to increase accuracy

    Read More

  • Baseball

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    Baseball is a unique sport in many different ways. It is the only major competitive sport that has no time limit. The success of a player is determined on how well he can play as an individual and how well the team plays along with him. There are many rules that determine the success of a player’s performance. A baseball game is played with two teams and each team is permitted 25 players per team; however this is only true for professional teams. There are three parts to baseball: offense, pitching, and defense.

    Read More

  • The Baseball Of Baseball : America 's Pastime

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    First off, the knuckle ball. It is called the hardest pitch to hit. A pitch that seemingly floats like a butterfly and then magically drops into the strike zone, dumbfounding the batter and almost always resulting in a strike out. But how is this pitch actually thrown? The name of the pitch essentially entails how the pitch is thrown, the pitcher curls his fingers into his hand, placing the knuckles of his fingers on the ball, and releasing the ball in this manner and fashion. But why does this work? It comes down to the position of the laces. By throwing the ball off the pitcher’s knuckles, the ball exhibits no spin throughout the entire duration of the pitch. This allows different lift forces within the air is passes to exert themselves upon the ball. By doing this, the ball is subject to different planar movements as a result of different lift forces manifesting themselves upon the baseball that is thrown. In a simplistic explanation, this is why a knuckle ball “knuckles” as it is thrown.

    Read More

  • Relay Throw Research Paper

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    The foundation of the relay throw is knowing when to cutoff the ball during a baseball or softball game. Relay is a term in baseball that refers to the throw by a relay man (who has received the ball from an outfielder) for the purposes of directing the ball to the proper location or base for a put-out.

    Read More

  • Elbow or Shoulder Pain and Professional Baseball Pitchers

    573 Words  | 2 Pages

    It’s fair to say that a good baseball game can lie in the hands of the pitcher. According to an article by the American Journal of Sports Medicine, 50 percent of professional baseball pitchers experience elbow or shoulder pain due to the way they throw the ball. Because not much research has been done on professional baseball athletes, the purpose of this publication was to find at what point in the pitcher’s technique does most of the damage occur. The study began by taking 40 pro-baseball pitchers, all ranging from the age of 23-33 years old with relatively the same height and weight. Also, thirty-two of the 40 selected are right-hand dominant. Then they placed 3 cameras in different parts of the field. These cameras would take still frames of the pitchers and their technique when throwing the ball. They found that at the point where there is maximum rotation (aka the cocking phase) the distraction force was low.

    Read More

More about Physics of Baseball

Open Document