Softball Science (Backyard Variety) -- Exit Velocity

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Oct 4, 2018
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We have a handful of bats in the garage, due to two girls playing travel ball for a few years. I put the 13 year old on the tee and gathered the following data. I was a bit surprised:

1614037008062.png


Just did the same with DD2. This daughter is two years younger, but has played the same amount of years as DD1 and has had many more lessons and been on better teams:

1614203411504.png
 
Last edited:
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
Calling pattar. So the lighter and smaller the bat the better the exit velo? Thinking results may be even more surprising from front toss. Does a 25 oz. bat hit the ball further/faster than a 21 oz. bat if swing speeds are equal?
 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
Calling pattar. So the lighter and smaller the bat the better the exit velo? Thinking results may be even more surprising from front toss. Does a 25 oz. bat hit the ball further/faster than a 21 oz. bat if swing speeds are equal?
Speed has a greater effect on kinetic energy than mass does. KE = m*v^2 Doubling the mass of an object would double its kinetic energy, but doubling the speed would quadruple the kinetic energy.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
I think it’s interesting that the exit speeds were as consistent as they were- really not as much variation as I would expect.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
I think it’s interesting that the exit speeds were as consistent as they were- really not as much variation as I would expect.

I did toss out a few. She would hit the top of the ball and it would go straight down and Pocket Radar would say 41 or something. But the consistency across bats made me laugh out loud. I even said "why do we bother buying so many bats?" when they're all about the same.
 
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radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Interesting info.

At what point does the strength of the batter apon contact apply more force?
? Less or more resistance at impact?

Could exit velocity have decreased do to fatigue?
( in such a way it could have minimized the small gap?)
 

Josh Greer

DFP Vendor
Jul 31, 2013
934
93
Central Missouri
Interesting info.

At what point does the strength of the batter apon contact apply more force?
? Less or more resistance at impact?

Could exit velocity have decreased do to fatigue?
( in such a way it could have minimized the small gap?)

That reminded me of a experiment my son did for a school Science Fair many moons ago; 6 years ago in fact. He did tests on 3 bats, back to back and was so exhausted at the end he could barely lift his arms. So the final conclusions certainly had some error. But in the end, his conclusion, for him at least, (actually concluded this a few year later after he had more experience under his belt) was that the balance of the bat impacted his exit velocity far more than the weight or composition of the bat itself. For him, a balanced bat versus end loaded was a better option. A season or two later, we picked up a 1 piece Combat composite (from Core, in fact) and it served him very well (for a very short time as the bat broke down quickly) (My 5th grade grammar teacher would not approve of my excessive parentheses usage.)

Easton XL1 31 (-8), Marucci AP5 30 (-4), Easton S3 30 (-5)
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
That reminded me of a experiment my son did for a school Science Fair many moons ago; 6 years ago in fact. He did tests on 3 bats, back to back and was so exhausted at the end he could barely lift his arms. So the final conclusions certainly had some error. But in the end, his conclusion, for him at least, (actually concluded this a few year later after he had more experience under his belt) was that the balance of the bat impacted his exit velocity far more than the weight or composition of the bat itself. For him, a balanced bat versus end loaded was a better option. A season or two later, we picked up a 1 piece Combat composite (from Core, in fact) and it served him very well (for a very short time as the bat broke down quickly) (My 5th grade grammar teacher would not approve of my excessive parentheses usage.)

Easton XL1 31 (-8), Marucci AP5 30 (-4), Easton S3 30 (-5)


Nice.

Yes, there are just so many factors. She was definitely getting tired towards the end, but we were rotating bats often. It was getting windy towards the end and that might have even altered the data. Our experiment certainly wasn't scientific.

I'm going to do the same with my other daughter. And then might have them both do a second round in a few days. More for my curiousity than anything.

I suppose (at this point) I'm thinking two things:

1. The feel of the bat and the confidence the girl has in the bat might be more important than the bat itself
2. I was thinking my strong older daughter would benefit from a heavier bat and almost got her a drop 9. I'll hold off on that for now
 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
Interesting info.

At what point does the strength of the batter apon contact apply more force?
? Less or more resistance at impact?

Could exit velocity have decreased do to fatigue?
( in such a way it could have minimized the small gap?)
The strength of the batter doesn’t have an impact on the force production other than it obviously impacts bat speed. If all other variables remain the same and two people of different strengths swung the same bat at the same speed the exit velocity would be identical.

I remember a video floating around a few years ago of a major-league baseball player hitting a no handed homerun that goes along with this.
 
Nov 17, 2020
145
28
Huntley, IL
We have a handful of bats in the garage, due to two girls playing travel ball for a few years. I put the 13 year old on the tee and gathered the following data. I was a bit surprised:

View attachment 21141
We do the same thing with each new bat we evaluate prior to purchase. Our results are similar to yours. We have an 2019 Easton Prowess that outperforms all the Easton Ghosts and the advanced as well. Just thought I would add some additional support. When evaluating a bat, it is all about the numbers!!!
 

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