- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Coaching Changes
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Here's a crazy baseball physics question...
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:05 pm to carguymatt
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:05 pm to carguymatt
Short answer would be lose speed because top spin doesn’t create speed, would only make the ball sink faster.
0
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:07 pm to carguymatt
The obvious answer is yes, or blue, or 73. What do I win Pat
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:08 pm to carguymatt
This is Les Miles fault
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:12 pm to upstate
quote:
Therefore the batter tipping the ball would actually cause the ball to reverse its spin if anything, causing it to lose energy
Doesn't matter if he tips it in the same direction the spin is already going. You must impart force on the ball to overcome the moment of inertia to change the spin rate . Changing the spin is either increasing the current spin or changing it's direction completely. An outside force is needed to do that. A simple free body diagram would show the same force that changes the moment of inertia also imparts a force linearly on the ball. Since the bat is swinging in the opposite direction, it will always be acting to slow the ball down. How much of the ball you catch dictates what portion of the swing force goes into slowing the ball linearly compared to changing the spin rate. But it will never add to the linear speed (unless you swing backwards).
Spin itself will never speed up a ball. It just affects it's direction in flight due to pressure imbalances on the ball. Higher pressure on top due to top spin causes a ball to dive down. Backspin on a 4 seem creates higher pressure below the ball counteracting gravity enough for it to seem to rise (usually not actually rising, just not falling at the standard rate). It cannot create such a pressure differential that the pressure is higher behind the ball to speed it up. So the bat can do nothing with spin to speed the ball up in the direction it was pitched.
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:19 pm to upstate
quote:
In the scenario you lay out the pitcher is throwing a fastball, so the ball is spinning backwards toward home. (Seams are rotating from the bottom of the ball toward the top at the batter.)
For a batter to tip it and it hit the backstop straight back, they almost certainly would have to tip the bottom of the ball. If you tip the top it’ll likely force the ball down more and at that speed it is hard to spin it enough to keep level AoA of the ball.
Therefore the batter tipping the ball would actually cause the ball to reverse its spin if anything, causing it to lose energy
Hope that makes sense
The pitched ball spin keeps its same directional spin, after the bat tips the bottom of the ball, so the ball goes over the bat. Basically it's like a sprinter taking off from the chock. I get the theory if it went under the bat it would lose speed. The pitch is losing speed on the way to the batter, If the chock for a sprinter wasn't there at all, the sprinter wouldn't get the same jump hence why they use it. If the chock didn't have leverage or wasn't held down, the sprinter would slip and lose speed out of the box. But does the physics here act like a finger running the opposite direction of a spinning yo-yo, or one of those pointed bottom things spinning on a table that spins faster when you tip it with your finger the opposite direction to keep it moving ?
I guess another way to look at it, If a sprinter could launch from a wheel mounted in the surface, if the friction of the wheel was tight enough, could the sprinter take off with slightly more speed given human mechanics
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:20 pm to Kentucker
quote:
: When the bat moving forward at ~95 mph
Need to change this part of the equation to 75 mph
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:20 pm to Kentucker
quote:
So a 95 mph pitch foul-tipped straight back will typically leave the bat at around 100-110 mph, making it one of the fastest-moving baseballs in the game. This is why foul tips can be so dangerous for catchers and why protective equipment behind the plate is so crucial.
The collision physics overwhelm any speed-reducing effects from hitting the bat moving in the “opposite” direction.
i took one to the jaw right behind home plate at a Rangers game. Was standing in the tunnel handing my tickets to the seating attendant and BAM!
Right in the jaw. Bounced off, hit her in the chest and down she went. I never dropped my turkey leg or beer. Didn't think to crappie flop and try to get free shite.
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:36 pm to jchamil
they say that's the average speed of a major league swing. In that case I would think the ball would lose speed but im not sure
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:46 pm to carguymatt
[/url][/img]
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:53 pm to carguymatt
The horse’s name is Friday…
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:57 pm to upstate
quote:
Therefore the batter tipping the ball would actually cause the ball to reverse its spin if anything, causing it to lose energy
How does Bear Jones reverse the spin of a 95 mph fastball and send it over the wall with an exit velocity of 112?
Posted on 9/2/25 at 9:59 pm to carguymatt
The doctor was the boy's mother's horse named Friday because you don't bury survivors on a flat roof
Posted on 9/2/25 at 10:09 pm to GRTiger
quote:
How does Bear Jones reverse the spin of a 95 mph fastball and send it over the wall with an exit velocity of 112?
Because the swing of the bat is imparting an outside force in the direction the new velocity is going, plus the coefficient of restitution between the bat and ball creating a new velocity vector directed at the appropriate angle to get over the wall. In the case of the foul tip, the bat's force and the coefficient of restitution are not acting in the backwards direction towards the backstop, so they can't add to the pitch speed.
Posted on 9/2/25 at 10:11 pm to carguymatt
2 objects moving in opposite directions at high rates of speed cannot be soulmates — the law of marriage.
Posted on 9/2/25 at 10:29 pm to carguymatt
The horses name was Friday.
Posted on 9/2/25 at 11:37 pm to carguymatt
Which direction is the high speed train going?
Posted on 9/3/25 at 5:32 am to MrSpock
What?
Posted on 9/3/25 at 5:34 am to Z Cavaricci
First page of responses is why I love the OT
Posted on 9/3/25 at 6:23 am to carguymatt
Are there any travel ball parents on the OT? Alternately, perhaps we could just message Brayden or Jaxson on the team app.
Posted on 9/3/25 at 6:41 am to carguymatt
quote:Ninety-five miles per hour.
If the pitcher throws the fastball lets say 95 mph,
Happy now?
Page 2 of 3
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News