�������������������������������������������� m(1)*v(1) = m(2)*v(2)
This, of course, is not entirely true because some momentum is lost during the transfer because of friction between the hand and baseball.
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| The General Dynamics of Pitching | |||||||||||||
| ��� Pitching is the act of hurling a baseball toward a batter.� Of course, there is much more involved with pitching, but in its essence, that is the definition of picthing.� Therefore, how exactly does a pitcher get the ball to travel from the pitcher's mound toward the batter?� The pitcher starts with a windup.� During this windup, the picther places all his weight behind the pitching rubber.� He then rocks forward the transfers his weight to the front of the rubber.� This motion creates the momentum that eventually carries the baseball toward the batter.� The momentum created through the windup must first be transferred to the ball, however.� This transfer of momentum involves a mechanical principle called sequential summation of motion.� Basically, this principle says that the largest body parts move first, followed by smaller and smaller ones, until finally the small object is relased.� In this case, the picther rotates and pushes against the mound with his feet, followed by a rotation of hips, shoulders, arm, wrist and fingers.� As each part gets close to full extension, the next body part in the sequence begins to move, until finally the baseball is released.� The momentum created by the windup should be roughly the same amount of momentum that is transferred to the baseball.� The is due to the momentum formula saying momentum before equals momentum after: �������������������������������������������� m(1)*v(1) = m(2)*v(2) This, of course, is not entirely true because some momentum is lost during the transfer because of friction between the hand and baseball. |
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| ��� One important aspect of pitching is the velocity of the baseball.� As a pitcher throws, his arm rotates above his head.� This motion helps to add velocity to the ball because of the angular momentum created.� Similarly, an object on a string has angular momentum.� As the string lengthens, angular momentum increases, therefore increasing velocity.� This is also true of pitchers.� Taller pitchers with longer arms are able to get more velocity on the ball because of this increased angular momentum.� Because of this, very tall pitchers like Randy Johnson, shown to the right, are successful. | |||||||||||||
| ��� Another important aspect of pitching and the behavior of specific pitches is the spin a pitcher places on the ball.� Spin determines the baseball's path after it leaves the pitchers hand.� It can cause the ball to drop, curve left or right, and possibly even rise, which will be discussed in the 'Fastball' section.� Between spin and velocity, a picther can create variations of many pitches.� The chart below shows the average velocity and spin differences for some standard pitches as thrown by a major league pitcher. | |||||||||||||
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| Home �� Pitching in General�� Fastball��� �� Slider/Curve Ball��� � Knuckle Ball | |||||||||||||