Bullet Spin

[cnardone]

I could be totally and technically wrong here but this is how I think of yaw. Bullet spin means the spin direction is perpendicular to the direction the ball is moving. The slow motion video of Garcia shows the dot rotating more on the bottom of the ball. The rotation axis, is XX degrees off of perpendicular. That is the yaw. How far off axis.

 

[Tatonka]

Yaw? If that's a name for some type of spin it must be a local thing.

you're kidding right?

 

[radness]

And the word pitch is also used in boating

 

[sluggers]

We call it "bullet spin" because the balls spins the same way a bullet spins.

 

[ArmWhip]

you're kidding right?

I'm serious, I gather that it means the spin axis is not perfectly aligned vertically or horizontally, but if it means off axis which direction, forward, backward, left, right. If a curveball has yaw exactly what does that mean? Is that different from a drop that has yaw?

 

[Bullseye]

No, I do not think that Garcia does not know how to pitch.

I understand that it is very difficult to get true 6-12 spin on a riseball consistently.

My daughter does not throw a riseball. When i was talking about bullet spin I was referring to dropballs, fastballs, drop curves etc. I am not a professional pitching instructor, I just sit on a bucket and catch for my daughter. In my experience, her ball does not move, or moves much less when she throws a ball with bullet spin.

At 14 dd's riseball became effective when her pitch speed increased to upper 50's.
For her curve and drop controlling the angle of spin made a distinct directional impact toward movement and desired location.
Drop over the top is not bullet spin. Bullet spin is sideways.
Two seperate releases.

 

[coach james]

Yaw? If that's a name for some type of spin it must be a local thing.

It's an aerodynamic term when referring to air pressure differential. It's actually getting more common in the pitching mechanics world. I'd suggest you Google it.

 

[ArmWhip]

It's an aerodynamic term when referring to air pressure differential. It's actually getting more common in the pitching mechanics world. I'd suggest you Google it.

Well, mix and match searches with air pressure differential, yaw, and pitching mechanics yielded nothing. In regards to aerodynamics yaw seems to refer to the left and right directional change of an airplane around a vertical axis, it is controlled by rudder. If I had to guess I would say that yaw is left-right axis deviation from perfect gyrospin.

 

[Tatonka]

RADcatcher's description posted above should provide enough of an example and definition to visualize what "yaw" means in relation to a softball pitch and it's orientation.

 

[coach james]

Well, mix and match searches with air pressure differential, yaw, and pitching mechanics yielded nothing. In regards to aerodynamics yaw seems to refer to the left and right directional change of an airplane around a vertical axis, it is controlled by rudder. If I had to guess I would say that yaw is left-right axis deviation from perfect gyrospin.

Correct. Because the axis of rotation is not perpendicular to the flight when referring to a pitched ball... So the air pressure differential will always be faster on the top half of the ball
assuming the large dot of yaw is angled slightly upward