Factors that determine ball flight distance

[CoogansBluff]

Some experiences of the past year have made me curious about what affects the distance you might hit a ball from one situation to the next.

For example, DD went to a college camp about a year ago and soared about 4 over the fence. Although she'd hit the ball that far before, it was rare for her to hit that many in a limited front-toss sessions. It was kinda chilly that day, and the camp was held at a higher-elevation location, like in the mountains vs. at the beach.

Went there again a couple of weeks ago. She's a year stronger and presumably better, and didn't scratch. Nor did any but a couple of campers. A year ago, there were probably 15 dingers. This year, maybe 2-3. Might've been a better quality camp before. Might've been a fluke. Could it be the weather?

Another issue is bat. DD changed bats this year. Different brand, a pound heavier. Her exit speeds hit a plateau this year. Might've even dropped, actually. Which didn't bother me since exit speed is not the ultimate goal. But then today, she went back to her old bat, and while I don't have conclusive evidence since she was hitting on a 300-foot fence and distance is hard to judge, but it seemed like the balls were going 10 feet farther. Weather also was cooler than usual, less humidity.

Anyway, not asking this so you can diagnose DD.

Just curious what conditions you find affect distance, or do you not see much difference from one situation to the next?

 

[625ender]

Air temp,humidity, trajectory,altitude, ball flight speed,spin, and believe it or not the height of the seams make a difference. Are you measuring her exit speed after impact with the ball? I assume you are. All things equal a heavier bat with the same speed with hit the ball further. Has she swung other team mates bats with the same length and weight? Some bats are just duds.

That said I've hit the dog squeeze out of balls that literally fell from the sky and other balls I didn't feel like I caught sailed out with ease. Ghost and phantoms also play a large role

 

[#7sDad]

The air pressure in the balls also effects them... apparently. At least that's what Goodell tells us.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Most people say it's the humidity but it's really due to pressure (High or Low).

 

[slugger3]

You named a lot of the influences on ball distance.

Weather:
Weather influencing the ball's distance?...Absolutely!
We play ball in 70-80* temp swings. It will be 30-35* this weekend when we play, and in the summer it can be 110* with the heat index.

I've read warmer weather helps with the long ball, almost like a bat warmer will.
I've seen the opposite. The colder it is, the farther the ball flies off my DDs bat, in my opinion. Maybe the ball is more dense. Maybe the composite bat works better when it's stiffer. The humidity is lower and the ball flies farther in the thinner air.

Longer fields:
Hitting on longer fields?...Love it!
When we were practicing on 275' and 300' fields this summer that's when my DD's power and HRs peaked while playing in Travel ball.
I think it has something to do with the fact that your mind knows you have to hit the ball harder to get it to go out of the park.
We would do the same thing back in the day in slow pitch. We would purposely practice hitting on the longest fields we could. Whether it was a 315' fence or an older baseball field in disrepair.
I grew up with a guy who exclusively practiced hitting softballs on baseball fields. That guy could pound the ball a long ways man! He told me straight up, "it's because I practice on longer fields." BS?...who knows...

Balls:
Maybe they used older marshmallow softballs at the most recent college camp, that have been steam rolled 1000 times in practice?

I bought 2 dozen of the best balls I could this summer to take that variability factor out of the equation. No marshmallows! And we would hit on 275' and 300' fields.
There was A LOT more consistency in my DDs distance as soon as we started hitting with balls that were all of the same brand, quality and integrity.
Before that we would grab the 3 dozen or so balls that have had the crap beat out of them for years and head out to the standard fastpitch fields.
The marshmallows would barely clear the fence, while the newer ones were over by quite a bit.

Strength:
Yes that plays a big factor in it all, but how tall is she and what does she weigh?
A short stocky girl who can bench 130, won't be able to hit the ball as far as a tall, broad shouldered, long armed girl who can bench 130.
My oldest DDs strength shifted from more of a low weight high rep to power lifting this last year. And yes we saw an increase in the ball distance related to her greater strength.

Swing: (oh you guys are gonna eat me up on this one)
Linear vs. Rotational
My DD changed from a rotational swing to a linear swing from last fall to early winter. Because we were told it was "better".
With the linear swing she lost ~ 40' in her max. distance. And yes it is cool with low humidity in winter dome ball, so that should have been beneficial in distance.
She then promptly told me off, and it took us 2 months to get her rotational swing back....as well as the distance. DD happy again! (me too)

Bat:
I'd say so. I watched our HS team start out with a Demarini CF8 this last season. At the beginning of the year it was a so-so bat. By the end of the year it was in the OMG category.
My DDs have 5 years of Xeno bats, and yes there are differences in how the ball comes off of the bat from the different year model bats.
Some have a wider sweet spot, but don't hit the ball as far. Other have a smaller sweet spot and the ball sails off of them, when hit right.

Ball spin:
A swing that causes the ball to have bottom spin will cause the ball to go farther, due to lift. (Riseball)
A swing that causes the ball to have top spin will cause the ball to go a shorter distance, due to the rotation of the ball wanting to move the ball downward. (Dropball)

Just food for thought...

 

[JJsqueeze]

not to be a nit picker but humidity actually helps ball flight, humid air is less dense than dry air. I know I know...it doesn't feel that way on a humid day but it is in fact...a fact. It is the reason no one wants to pitch for the Rockies.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Guessing in our case that the bat difference is the biggest thing. Been using a Mako, the orange/white one. Went back to the purple Xeno. Not saying one brand or model is better for all, but those 2 particular bats that DD owns and their weight, just seems she can hit farther w/ the older, lighter xeno. Hadn't used the xeno in a while. Probably should've been.

But other elements certainly play a role. Just curious what they are. I really think altitude is a factor. DD's team hit more HR than expected in Colorado a couple of years ago.

Quality of balls for sure. Also speed of the pitcher, but I'm just comparing what I see on front toss.

Trajectory is certainly a factor with distance. The ferris-wheel swing gets more distance than the merry-go-round, IMO.

 

[CoogansBluff]

not to be a nit picker but humidity actually helps ball flight, humid air is less dense than dry air. I know I know...it doesn't feel that way on a humid day but it is in fact...a fact. It is the reason no one wants to pitch for the Rockies.

Atlanta Stadium used to be called the launching pad. Pretty humid there. Also higher elevation than any park east of the Mississippi and perhaps any but Denver.

 

[Gambler Bob]

Cool weather helps significantly IMO. Hit the same ball on a 90 degree day and it will feel soft off the bat, hit that same ball at 45-50 degrees it will feel like you hit a rock. You can add 20 feet to the distance in cold weather in slow pitch softball.

 

[Chris Delorit]

Bob,

All great factors above, but slugger hit the nail on the head. Mostly, it just boils downhill to quality of the ball, bat & then power delivery to the contact point. You can toss pitch velocity in there as well. Otherwise, I wouldn't suggest it require too much over-thinking. Otherwise, you'll end up with moon phases, gravitational pull, zodiac signs...

Depending on your daughter's age & competition level, picking out a good rise ball can also increase her percentages for orbital launch.