Posted by: Dave (cdpaetkau@telus.net) on Tue Jan 28 15:26:59 2003

I am new to your site also and it appears you have a very good background in physics and biomechanics. I played fastpitch on the Canadian Men's National team for 9 years and played at the 'A' level for 20 years. I have written several papers on biomechanical principals of throwing and hitting. Just to answer a couple questions about the difference in the two games of baseball and fastpitch. Yes the reaction time is very limited in fastpitch compared to baseball and based on release points and throwing distance a 75MPH fastpitch pitch is equivalent to a 92MPH baseball pitch. The top pitchers in the men’s game can throw about 82-87MPH which would equate to a 100-107MPH baseball pitch. Regarding the swing mechanics between the two sports they are basically the same and both are looking for the level swing through the strike zone however the baseball players are dealing with much slower reaction time requirement. You stated that the riseball was more of pitch selection then swing mechanics (a pitch to lay off), however the fact that to identify, qualify and initiate a swing in fastpitch really limits pre-swing bat positioning and puts emphasis on quick hands and less on power generation. Technically speaking a riseball is an easier pitch to hit with power because of initial ball rotation promotes backspin and it is easier to clear the front shoulder since most of these pitches are in the top part of the strike zone. This works in explaining your idea of keeping the bat in a horizontal plane through the swing plane longer. The reason why current fastpitch games have higher scores then in the past is due to equipment upgrades (lighter bats, harder balls) and a hitting philosophy that concentrates on contact rather than power generation.