Last week, I was talking about pitching in baseball - an essential part of the game. This week, I would like to talk about another essential feature, "hitting" or "batting".
Good pitching can make batting the ball an almost impossible task. Indeed, really good pitching leads to a "no-hitter" and ultimately, to a "perfect game". There has already been one of those this year.
But the objective for the team that is up is hitting the ball into the field of play. This is a lot harder than it looks which is why batters with .300 career averages are considered exceptional.
I mean, if you think about it, that means that they successfully completed their job only 3 times in 10 over the course of their career. Would you go to a heart surgeon with that kind of record?
However, the act of hitting is a complicated mixture of physics and psychology. It requires precise timing and strength. The latter, of course, has been achieved by some players through the use of anabolic steroids but that is a different discussion.
The physics of the swing are important if the bat is to meet the ball at exactly the right place, at the right time, with the right rigidity so as to transfer as much power to the ball as possible within an extremely short moment of contact thereby providing sufficient impetus to put the ball out of the park. Yes, physics matters when hitting.
Consider the swing of the bat. It is, or it should be, a smooth arc around the batter. A smooth swing ensures that the bat reaches maximum speed and minimizes the chances of missing the ball.
The best way to achieve a smooth and powerful swing is by striding into the pitch. The arms bring the bat through the strike zone. But adding the legs allows the powerful muscles of the lower body to add addition force. It is a combination of the torso - the muscles of the chest and abdomen - combined with the thigh and calf muscles that really add the extra power.
Take away the stride or the torso and the distance that the ball can be hit is dramatically reduced - which is why Jose Bautista's leg kick is so important. Using arm strength alone will result in infield flies and not fence clearing home runs.
The amount of force that can be applied to the ball, with a proper swing, can be calculated from such factors as the speed and hardness of the bat, the density and coefficient of restoration of the ball, and the environmental conditions such as the temperature and air pressure. Under ideal conditions, though, a good player can get the bat moving at a speed of about 110 kilometres per hour through the hitting zone.
This compresses the baseball slightly upon impact with the result that the ball literally springs off the bat once it is hit. That extra spring can get the ball going at its terminal velocity with the result that ball - if hit perfectly - will travel 545 feet (or about 165 metres). That is as far as a ball can be hit under normal conditions, period. Maybe a little bit further at altitude such as Colorado.
But it is not enough to simply swing the bat at the ball with speed and power. Timing is critical. It is important that the collision occur in the middle of the swing. If the bat is ahead or behind the ball, the simple angles of impact and return will cause the ball to go foul.
The window of contact to hit a ball into the field of play or over the outfield fence is just a matter of a few degrees and mere milliseconds in time.
And, of course, equally important is the swing plane of the bat. Consider that the ball is following a ballistic trajectory on route from the pitcher to the catcher. To hit the ball, the batter wants the bat to flow through this plane but in the opposite direction. Hence, a slight upper cut to the swing of about 10 degrees maximizes the chances of hitting the ball. Anything else will result in a pop up or a ground ball.
Of course then there is the optimal angle to hit the ball the maximum distance (35 degrees) requiring the batter to actually strike the ball just below centre. And the type of wood used to provide maximum restoration. And the spin on the ball imparted by the bat. But all of these will have to wait for another column.
