Instructing a pitcher to intentionally hit a batter

[robotman]

In reaction time only. A 60 mph ball 'feels' like a 60 mph ball no matter what distance it's thrown from. The larger surface area of a softball distributes the force somewhat which may be good or bad depending upon where it hits. A smaller surface area that is over a muscle is better even though concentrated than 'distributing' the force to a bone. A 90 mph fastball that's 90 mph when it hits you will apply half again more force than one that's 60 mph when it hits the batter. If a hammer hits a nail at 90 mph it will drive the nail 1 1/2 times further than a hammer hitting a nail at 60 mph is another way of looking at it.

 

If it is your opinion that a 60mph softball doesn't hurt as bad as a 90mph baseball, I think that is ridiculous. First, a softball isn't soft, it's bigger than a baseball and it hurts when you get hit by one. Just like it hurts when you get hit by a baseball. Unless you have been plunked by both, I don't agree with your assumption. Stand up there and take one from the Riverdale or Tullahoma pitcher, then report back to us.

[catsbackr]

If it is your opinion that a 60mph softball doesn't hurt as bad as a 90mph baseball, I think that is ridiculous. First, a softball isn't soft, it's bigger than a baseball and it hurts when you get hit by one. Just like it hurts when you get hit by a baseball. Unless you have been plunked by both, I don't agree with your assumption. Stand up there and take one from the Riverdale or Tullahoma pitcher, then report back to us.

 

Reread you post.

 

Your post doesn't make any sense. Obviously they both hurt, but ANYONE would rather be hit by something, if they had to be hit, going 60 MPH rather than 90 MPH.

 

Common sense.

[FridayMainEvent]

Reread you post.

 

Your post doesn't make any sense. Obviously they both hurt, but ANYONE would rather be hit by something, if they had to be hit, going 60 MPH rather than 90 MPH.

 

Common sense.

 

 

 

agreed

[ksgovols]

Yep. Been hit by both. My argument is not that a softball doesn't hurt, it's that something going 90 mph applies 1.5 times as much force as something going 60 mph. Would you rather have a car wreck going 60 or going 90? This is a simple mathematical equation. It doesn't have anything to do with softball vs baseball. Reaction time in the batter's box is another thing entirely. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something thrown from 60'-6" has to be thrown at a greater velocity to get to where it's going at the same time as something thrown from 40 ft.

 

It's the old word problems. You know, a train leaving Memphis at 1:00 P.M. and a train leaving Knoxville at 2:00 P.M. are to arrive at the station in Nashville at exactly the same time. If the distance from the train stations in Memphis and Knoxville are equi-distant to Nashville's station (200 miles) and the train from Memphis is traveling at 60 mph, how fast does the train from Knoxville have to travel? What time will the 2 trains arrive in Nashville? Assume CST. Well duh, 200/60 is 3.33 hours. So they'll arrive at 4:20 P.M. CST. The train from Knoxville will be traveling at 200/2.33= 85.71 mph. I will conceed that the train from Memphis is just as hard as the train from Knoxville and I don't really want to get hit by either one of them, but the train from Knoxville is probably going to do more damage if it hits me.

[minihaha5]

60 mph from 40 feet is like 90 mph from 60 feet.

 

Uh, no it is not. 60mph is 60 mph and 90mph is 90mph The latter will hurt more regardless of the distance.

[statman3]

Yep. Been hit by both. My argument is not that a softball doesn't hurt, it's that something going 90 mph applies 1.5 times as much force as something going 60 mph. Would you rather have a car wreck going 60 or going 90? This is a simple mathematical equation. It doesn't have anything to do with softball vs baseball. Reaction time in the batter's box is another thing entirely. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something thrown from 60'-6" has to be thrown at a greater velocity to get to where it's going at the same time as something thrown from 40 ft.

 

It's the old word problems. You know, a train leaving Memphis at 1:00 P.M. and a train leaving Knoxville at 2:00 P.M. are to arrive at the station in Nashville at exactly the same time. If the distance from the train stations in Memphis and Knoxville are equi-distant to Nashville's station (200 miles) and the train from Memphis is traveling at 60 mph, how fast does the train from Knoxville have to travel? What time will the 2 trains arrive in Nashville? Assume CST. Well duh, 200/60 is 3.33 hours. So they'll arrive at 4:20 P.M. CST. The train from Knoxville will be traveling at 200/2.33= 85.71 mph. I will conceed that the train from Memphis is just as hard as the train from Knoxville and I don't really want to get hit by either one of them, but the train from Knoxville is probably going to do more damage if it hits me.

 

Nice physics lesson but neither ball is being acted on by "forces" once they leave the pitcher's hand with the exception of wind resistance and gravity. They do however have "momentum" and "kinetic energy" which are the sources of the "ouch" when it makes contact with the batter. To answer the question, you need to know weight of the ball and velocity.

 

Bottom line.....both hurt like the devil!

[hits123]

Uh, no it is not. 60mph is 60 mph and 90mph is 90mph The latter will hurt more regardless of the distance.

Agree. But the reaction time is different, based on 40' vs 60'.6".

[ksgovols]

Nice physics lesson but neither ball is being acted on by "forces" once they leave the pitcher's hand with the exception of wind resistance and gravity. They do however have "momentum" and "kinetic energy" which are the sources of the "ouch" when it makes contact with the batter. To answer the question, you need to know weight of the ball and velocity.

 

Bottom line.....both hurt like the devil!

 

 

Force is the action of one body on another. There is a force that sends the ball in motion from the pitcher's hand. The sudden stopping of the ball when it hits leather, aluminum or body parts is also a force. The ball didn't stop on it's own. Air resistance and gravity are forces that are acting on the the ball while it moves from point A to point B. Thrown balls do not gain momentum in the horizontal plane. They are at their fastest when they leave the pitcher's hand. From that point on they are decelerating due to friction and gravitational pull.

 

These are all covered in Sir Isaac Newton's laws of gravity, including 'For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.' THAT'S what causes the ouch. The opposite and equal reaction. A hammer traveling at 90 mph when it suddenly stops on the nail head is exerting more force than the hammer traveling at 60 mph when it suddenly stops on the nail head. You can look it up.

[statman3]

Force is the action of one body on another. There is a force that sends the ball in motion from the pitcher's hand. The sudden stopping of the ball when it hits leather, aluminum or body parts is also a force. The ball didn't stop on it's own. Air resistance and gravity are forces that are acting on the the ball while it moves from point A to point B. Thrown balls do not gain momentum in the horizontal plane. They are at their fastest when they leave the pitcher's hand. From that point on they are decelerating due to friction and gravitational pull.

 

These are all covered in Sir Isaac Newton's laws of gravity, including 'For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.' THAT'S what causes the ouch. The opposite and equal reaction. A hammer traveling at 90 mph when it suddenly stops on the nail head is exerting more force than the hammer traveling at 60 mph when it suddenly stops on the nail head. You can look it up.

 

Very good Ksgovols, you are 99% correct.

 

The forces that act on the ball at the point of impact are supplied by the batter. In the case of the hammer, it depends on whether the hammer was thrown or is still under the control of the "hammerer".

 

However, I still contend that the source of the "ouch" stems from the principals of "conservation of momentum" and "conservation of energy", which both require consideration of MASS. Mass has yet to be introduced in all of the discussions above, and that is really my only point. In other words....a piece of popcorn impacting a batter at 60mph is going to ouch less than a softball impacting a batter at 60mph. Which has more mass...a baseball of a softball?

[JC#1fan]

Very good Ksgovols, you are 99% correct.

 

The forces that act on the ball at the point of impact are supplied by the batter. In the case of the hammer, it depends on whether the hammer was thrown or is still under the control of the "hammerer".

 

However, I still contend that the source of the "ouch" stems from the principals of "conservation of momentum" and "conservation of energy", which both require consideration of MASS. Mass has yet to be introduced in all of the discussions above, and that is really my only point. In other words....a piece of popcorn impacting a batter at 60mph is going to ouch less than a softball impacting a batter at 60mph. Which has more mass...a baseball of a softball?

 

Baseballs and 12" softballs weigh the same (6 ounces), the obvious difference is the size of the impact area. 90 mph is 90 mph(had to be one ksgovols three hurlers /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> ) and 60 mph is 60mph, 90 hurts more and is the speed associated with a baseball here and it also has a more concentrated impact area.

[ksgovols]

There have been some studies concerning the RIF balls that many youth leagues use at the younger age groups because they are softer and expand when they hit anything. There is a line of reasoning that the larger impact area, while less concentrated, actually increases the chance of injury because of the larger area involved and the rebound effect of the RIF balls. To me, it seems that the harder ball with a concentrated impact area would be more dangerous.

 

Naturally, mass has something to do with it, the force at impact is directly proportionate to the mass of the object. Equal and opposite stops the object in motion. Batted balls have an applied force that stops the balls forward progress and then propels it in the opposite direction.

[zachsdad]

I have been hit by both baseballs thown from 60 feet by guys who would later be MLB allstars and softballs from guys from 46 ft (I think that is the mens distance). The one I remember as being the most painfull was a softball in the leg. It stayed bruised and swollen for six weeks.

Maybe it is because I played baseball in my teens and softball until I was almost 40, but honestly I don't remember a baseball hurting anymore or doing more damage than a softball.