Role of Physics in Sports

The motions of throwing, batting, and fielding will be presented in physics terms and ideas. Physics plays a big role in sports. One particular sport is softball, where we will be seeing different motions represented.

First, we are going to look at the two different types of throwing. There is the regular over-hand throw and there is also the pitching style. When looking at the regular over-hand throw and the pitching style of throwing, many of the same concepts apply to both. In pitching, there are three main issues involved. One is travel speed, another is rotational spin, and the last issue is direction of the spin. Newton’s Third Law of Physics, which is with every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, applies to the speed the ball travels when it is pitched and also thrown. The power of a pitch comes when the leg muscles push into the ground and the ground returns that power like a spring. The key in this motion is that the body’s weight, the center of gravity, and balance must remain on or over the drive leg as it pivots and opens the body (Redmer). The pitching wind-up for a pitcher is called the sequential summation of movement. This movement is different for different people. Some girls have a wind up where they bring the ball down towards the ground and come back up in a fluid-like motion. Others have a wind-up where they hit their thigh of their pitching leg. Many people think that this is just to distract the batter and there are some pitchers who make a grunting noise, and some people say this is a distraction mechanism also. Two other aspects of throwing that are pretty important are grip and release point. Grip is very important because a softball has raised seams. When the ball is rotating through the ai...

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...to play. The ball steadily slows down until it is fielded because of the inertia. If the ball is hot in the air but bounces on the ground before the person fields it, then they would have to be sure to watch and calculate the projectile motion and how the ball spins on the ground. To be a good fielder, one has to be consciously aware of how the ball will move and to what direction it will be coming off the bat. They need to be able to calculate the speed the ball is coming and if it is going to bounce or curve.

As shown, many physics concepts can be related to sports. Batting is a perfect example of Newton’s 3rd Law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Throwing represents torque and a lever arm. Fielding shows examples of Newton’s 1st Law, the law of inertia. There are many other concepts that can be related to softball; these are just a few.