Posted by: () on Mon Dec 17 13:33:14 2001

Does the mass of the batters body , arms or hands give a hitter any more power ?
> > Here is a hypothetical situation :
> > There are two batters, one weighing 180 pounds and one weighing 220 pounds and it happens (because of genetics, or technique , lets say ) that they both can swing a 30 OZ. , 34 inch bat at exactly 90 MPH ? They both hit 80 MPH pitches perfectly on the sweet spot with the same launch angle and direction. All conditions of wind , ball , etc are the same.
> >

The only difference between them is that the heavier player has greater body, arm , and hand mass.
> > Will the two balls go the exact same distance or not ?
> >
> > If the more massive batter hits farther , then would it be of any value to make yourself more massive by wearing wrist weights or weight belts while actually hitting ?
> >
> > If the more massive batter hits the same , then does that mean that just acceleration of the bat head on an accurate path governs all results.
>
> Sid-
>
> My recollection is that if batspeed is the same,the duration of contact is such that mass makes no difference.Some have theorized that it could make a difference for aluminum with a trampoline effect where contact is longer,but I haven't heard of any evidence supporting this.
>
> Mass,however can have the effect of increasing batspeed.If 2 torsos are rotating with the same angular velocity,the more massive one has more momentum which can give higher batspeed if transfer mechanics are equally efficient.Transfer mechanics will be influenced by how fast the bathead fires out,swing radius,when and if handpath straightens,etc.

Sid,

In theory, the ball will travel the same distance.

In fact, a batter who is 40 lbs heavier with the same conditioning, reflexes and quickness as the smaller batter, will not use the same size bat. The samller player will not have the same quickness and reflexes useing the bigger bat. If the both use the same bat the bigger man will be able to generate more bat speed.

The bigger guy will, in the real world, hit the ball further.

Joe A.