Batter Up!
Ursula Hennessey ·
Mar 7, 2011 at 4:44pm
I don't think you have to be a Yankee fan to appreciate this. You probably don't even have to be a baseball fan. Perhaps a fan of physics will find this most fascinating. Let me know if I'm wrong.
But this -- more than any other article, tweet, or blog I've read this spring training season -- this gets me excited for Opening Day.
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Jun '10
Re: Batter Up!
If that's how I made my living, I'd be scared to death of heavy doors, knives, or power tools. One sliced or squished finger, and my career is over.
Sep '10
Re: Batter Up!
That was really neat and so informative. I learned a lot!
Jun '10
Re: Batter Up!
I HATE the Yankees but can't wait for baseball! (just to make you feel better, I did go to a game at Yankee Stadium last summer)
Oct '10
Re: Batter Up!
Ursula, I can tell you're a true Yankee fan - I mean, true, dyed-in-the-pinstripes Yankee fan.
I can tell, because you wrote "I don't think you have to be a Yankee fan to appreciate..." rather than "I don't think you have to be a Yankees fan to appreciate..."
I submit that real Yankee fans refer to themselves as a "Yankee fan" rather than a "Yankees fan." Or maybe it's just native New Yorkers who do this, I don't know. My immediate ancestors grew up in the Bronx, and they and their progeny have always been Yankee fans.
Me, I'm a Met fan.
Re: Batter Up!
As best I can tell, baseball is, simply, impossible. Hitting fastballs that come in at more than 90 mph? Or cutter's like Rivera's? Can't be done. It just can't.
Which makes every game...a miracle.
Just thought I'd attempt a little theology for you there, Ursula.
Feb '11
Re: Batter Up!
Lee-Halladay-Hamels-Oswalt-Lidge.........See you in October!
Re: Batter Up!
dittoheadadt: Ursula, I can tell you're a true Yankee fan - I mean, true, dyed-in-the-pinstripes Yankee fan.
I can tell, because you wrote "I don't think you have to be a Yankee fan to appreciate..." rather than "I don't think you have to be a Yankees fan to appreciate..."
I submit that real Yankee fans refer to themselves as a "Yankee fan" rather than a "Yankees fan." Or maybe it's just native New Yorkers who do this, I don't know. My immediate ancestors grew up in the Bronx, and they and their progeny have always been Yankee fans.
Me, I'm a Met fan.
A fascinating local linguistics lesson, ditto. I did grow up in NYC (Staten Island) but never noticed the difference in the "s" or non-"s" format. Interesting! Actually, I've said this here before, but I'm a NY baseball squish. I grew up a Met fan (and Yankee hater) but became a sportswriter and came to love people in both clubs/organizations after spending about 200 days a year with them for 3 years. A fan of both clubs? Not possible, say you. I say yes.
Nov '10
Re: Batter Up!
Well, it helps, though Rivera is a joy to watch regardless of one's affinity!
Great post for emphasizing that a successful career in professional sports requires more than just physical ability; a mastery of science and psychology is critical as well.
Edited on Mar 7, 2011 at 5:34pmRe: Batter Up!
I see what you are saying, etoile. Still, he is 41 years old. He's earned a pretty good living with that arm so far. He can probably afford to carve the turkey again.
Re: Batter Up!
O's!
Jun '10
Re: Batter Up!
I'with Peter, Baseball is a miracle. Oh! and sometimes a ballet, especially around second.
May '10
Re: Batter Up!
The Magnus Effect predicts that in colder and lower altitude air, the curve of the ball will be more pronounced. So playing at sea level in New York helps Rivera.
May '10
Re: Batter Up!
In my college aerodynamics class we learned about the Magnus Effect and its relative, the Kutta-Joukowski Theorem (warning: calculus).
These aerodynamic properties were put to use in anti-dam operations by the Allies in World War II. The British invented a bomb on which they imparted backspin, causing it to "loft" like a golf ball or a four-seam fastball, then strike the surface of the water at a low angle so it would skip over the torpedo nets, then "crawl" down the front of the dam to explode at its base.
Edited on Mar 8, 2011 at 8:36amRe: Batter Up!
Mark Wilson: In my college aerodynamics class we learned about the Magnus Effect and its relative, the Kutta-Joukowski Theorem (warning: calculus).
These aerodynamic properties were put to use in anti-dam operations by the Allies in World War II. The British invented a bomb on which they imparted backspin, causing it to "loft" like a golf ball or a four-seam fastball, then strike the surface of the water at a low angle so it would skip over the torpedo nets, then "crawl" down the front of the dam to explode at its base. · Mar 7 at 9:38pm
Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.
May '10
Re: Batter Up!
Another bit of desception is consistent arm speed (not just arm angle) no matter the speed of the pitch. With a change-up, for instance, your arm speed is ideally identical to your fastball, but, through a less efficient grip (deep in the palm, released from ring and pinky fingers), that arm speed is intentionally wasted, deceiving the batter.
Likewise, with a good curve ball, that arm speed is "wasted" creating spin, not speed. Sometimes, in fact, a pitcher's arm actually travels faster for a curveball, even though the ball itself is traveling much slower--since with a curveball release, the ball gives less resistance to the pitcher (like he's releasing a tennis ball or something), allowing his arm to travel faster than when he uses a resistance-giving fastball grip. The primo example of this was Kerry Woods' big, loopy "frisbee slurve," which came off a very fast arm, but traveled very slow (relative to his 95 mph fastball, that is), and broke a good 20". (Unfortunately, that arm speed also went toward fraying his UCL.)
Baseball is the perfect game.
Oct '10
Re: Batter Up!
This post isn't about physics and it isn't about baseball. It's about Mariano Rivera, and how a Met/Red Sox fan came to admire and respect the man in an instant:
http://atmlb.com/fdTbUs
I saw that happen live (albeit on TV) because I wanted to watch the Sox get their rings, but what remains with me most from that day was Rivera's reaction to the Sox fans' ovation.
It ain't easy for a Met/Sox fan to admit to admiring a Yankee...well, actually, in this case, it is.