Posted by: Jim (jwelborn@lexcominc.net) on Tue Dec 19 19:58:34 2006

Perfect six to twelve back spin will indeed cause the ball to sail straighter and stay aloft longer. One would assume that a level swing at a slow pitched softball’s downward angle could induce strong six to twelve back spin. Perhaps in slow pitch, inducing a specific degree of spin is something that is possible and desirable to do. Developing such a skill is possible with an exceptional athlete with a slow moving ball. Spending time perfecting it may pay off.

Baseball and fastpitch are different. In both games, the ball travels to the plate in around 0.4 second. The batter’s commitment to swing occurs when the ball is about 0.1 second from the contact zone. Reaction times are much too fast for the batter to be successful if he has to be concerned with inducing a specific back spin by hitting a precise spot on the ball with spin being the objective. I believe the baseball/fastpitch batter should not be concened about backspin. Far greater success will result for most players if the swing plane of the bat matches the line of the pitch. It would take an incredibly talented (and rare) athlete to be a consistent hitter if spin was his major concern.

A down side of strong back spin can be seen when balls that don’t clear the fence hang too long giving the defense the advantage.