Do softball pitches "move"?

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LEsoftballdad

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Jun 29, 2021
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It is physics. I just need to know how fast the spin rate is and I can calculate the moving distance in the direction of the spin

"Further research could be conducted studying a wider variety of spin rates, as this investigation mainly consisted of Ping Pong balls of relatively high spin. Various flight speeds can also be tested to see its effects on the deflection of the ball. In addition, different types of sports balls and the effects of spin rate on their deflection ratios can be studied as well. Also, an extension of the investigation could study the effects of top or back spin on the vertical component of the ball’s curvature."

Ping pong balls are not softballs. I suspect you've never caught for a girl who throws with legit spin and speed, otherwise you'd realize those pitches break a lot.
 
Jun 8, 2016
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I will bite the bullet. For soccer and Ping Pong, even tennis, it is very obvious that the ball break. Why not softball? It is physics. Once the ball left the hand, only gravity and air friction can move the ball. Any kind of break you want to see should be the result of air friction. a=F/m. Softball is too heavy compared to Ping Pong and the cross-sectional area is too small compared to soccer. So the spin rate needs to be much higher to make it break. Unfortunately, softball is too big (compared to baseball) to spin. There might be some players with big hands and strong fingers who could really spin the ball fast enough to make it move. But in most cases, no, it won't move.
It is physics, you got that part correct.
 
Jul 16, 2019
67
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It is physics. I just need to know how fast the spin rate is and I can calculate the moving distance in the direction of the spin

For people who believe in physics, good reading for new year's day.


There must be more similar research and experiment done for baseball/softball. All we want to know is how fast you need to spin the ball in order to have some noticeable movement. Google says "Professional and Olympic pitchers consistently throw curveball, screwball, and riseball pitches with a spin of 25 RPS or more. Their dropballs typically spin less than their curveball. Some pitchers throw riseballs with as much as 30 RPS spin. A good breaking ball requires at least 19 RPS." Can a girl really spin 19 RPS? any reliable tool out there to measure the spin accurately? If a girl can spin the ball at 19RPS, using the formula in the first article will give you a deflection distance of about 11.5 inch. That is a noticeable movement.
 

LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
Look into a Rapsodo for true spin, break, and spin efficiency, and axis. It is very accurate in determining all of the above.
 
Apr 14, 2022
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I will bite the bullet. For soccer and Ping Pong, even tennis, it is very obvious that the ball break. Why not softball? It is physics. Once the ball left the hand, only gravity and air friction can move the ball. Any kind of break you want to see should be the result of air friction. a=F/m. Softball is too heavy compared to Ping Pong and the cross-sectional area is too small compared to soccer. So the spin rate needs to be much higher to make it break. Unfortunately, softball is too big (compared to baseball) to spin. There might be some players with big hands and strong fingers who could really spin the ball fast enough to make it move. But in most cases, no, it won't move.
Softballs have seams.
The drag equation F= .5*p*v^2*a
Area of softball 11.3 in ^2 area of baseball 6.6 in ^2
Softball has 1.7 greater area with 1.3x the mass.
 
Jul 16, 2019
67
18
Softballs have seams.
The drag equation F= .5*p*v^2*a
Area of softball 11.3 in ^2 area of baseball 6.6 in ^2
Softball has 1.7 greater area with 1.3x the mass.
softball is heavier and the travel distance is shorter.

Not to consider the small hand handling a big ball thing, it is still harder to make a softball move than baseball.
 
Jun 8, 2016
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The question was do softballs move. The answer is yes. If they are spinning they will have forces generated in addition to drag and gravity. There is no magic spin rate where the forces magically appear…it is not a bifurcation phenomena like the onset of turbulence. There are also effects due to flow separation which make balls move. Do they move a lot? Compared to baseball, no…but they still move.

This argument is dumb..can we be finished with it now?
 
Last edited:
Apr 14, 2022
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softball is heavier and the travel distance is shorter.

Not to consider the small hand handling a big ball thing, it is still harder to make a softball move than baseball.
Being heavier does not matter. It is weight to area ratio. The time is the same.

At 11 my dd could spin it enough you could hear it coming.

A baseball starts outside the strike zone an a downward trajectory. A softball starts inside the strike zone on an upward trajectory. A sinker in baseball the spin and gravity are in the same direction this will make the downward movement from gravity also seem to come from spin. On a drop ball fort 1/3-2/3 the trip the ball is actually going up. A 60 mph drop at the knees without spin might end up at the waist.
 
Jul 16, 2019
67
18
Yes. Quite easily.

IMG_1610.png

Rapsodo data from the above 2021 thread. The average TOTAL spin for D1 is between 992-1337. I doubt any of the pitches will have more than 1140RPM (19 RPS) true spin.

their most recent college softball pitching data guide

In this guide, all the number was rounded up. However, look at the break in inches. So with this bumped-up data, the elite college pitcher's curve ball moves 6 inches. It is movement. Not sure whether it is noticeable. Bottomline, it really doesn't move that much. But maybe we don't need a lot of movement to fool the batter?

Now I really want to know how fast my girl can spin the ball. Rapsodo is too expensive. Revfire is discontinued. Is Dimond Kinetics the only affordable tool out there to measure spin now? Is it accurate?
 
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