Posted by: Tony (t_stefko@yahoo.com) on Wed Jun 28 10:59:43 2006

> >>> Jack,
>
> I still wouldn't discount that all of the similar tests are similarly flawed. I believe in physics and we can get as scientific as we want, but it really comes down to common sense. Based on what you believe, are you saying that a 250lb man and a 150lb man who generate the same batspeed are capable of hitting the ball the same distance?
>
> If you look at all of the greatest homerun hitters of the past and present, they all have substantial size and mass. I don't see how you can prove that all of these larger players generated more batspeed than the smaller ones. For example, you won't see Brian Roberts hitting 500+ homeruns in his career, but you may see Albert Pujols do it. You can't say this is because Albert Pujols has more batspeed than Brian Roberts. Mass and Momentum of the player are definately a factor. <<<
>
> Hi Tony
>
> It is obviously up to you accept or discount the findings of the tests. But keep in mind that during the bat/ball collision, the bat is only in contact with the ball for 1/2000 second and only moves forward about 5/8 inch before the ball is gone. -- If the collision caused the bat to flex (or bend) 5/8 inch (or more), would the momentum of the batter’s mass at the handle still be transferred to the point of contact before the ball was gone? – Just a question to ponder.
>
> Jack Mankin

Jack,

First off, thank you for staying tuned to this discussion. I enjoy your perspective and my purpose here is not to discount what you are promoting on this site. What you do is for the good of all players.

Every solid object will flex (or bend) when colliding with another object, some more measurable than others. The amount of flex (or bend) has a direct impact on the amount of energy transferred in the opposite direction of the impact by that object. With the makup of the bat being consistent, the variable flex that can occur in a swing are the bones and joints of a player. Larger bones and muscle mass will reduce the flex (or bend) in the player because the force they are generating will be more resistant to flex in the opposite direction of impact. Likewise, a good rotational swing where the arms stay connected with the body, will resist flex, while as a linear swing where the arms disconnect from the body will resist flex much less.

Now to answer your question. I do believe the momentum of the batter's mass at the handle will transfer to the point of contact when flex comes in to play. For the time where the ball is in contact with the bat, the bat may flex, but it will also recover while the ball is still in contact with the bat(spring effect). Since the ball does not leave contact with the bat prior to the rebound from flex, the momentum of the player would still get transferred to the point of contact.

Just one more quick point back to physics. Force = Mass x Acceleration
I know you believe force is required to hit a ball hard. Every object that goes from stop - fastest - stop in terms of speed is slowing down between fastest - stop. Well, when an oject is slowing down, it's acceleration is negative. Plug that in to the formula for Force and you have a negative force in that direction. So how does the bat still hit the ball hard? The momentum of the bat and player together supplies the energy that goes into the ball at contact.

In baseball terms, have you ever seen a major leaguer get fooled on an offspeed pitch and still hit it hard? I have many times. Contact occurs after the bat has reached its maximum velocity in the swing. The reason the ball is hit so hard is because the player still has a great amount of momentum going in that direction.