this explains why bullet spin gets movement in any direction...
I cricket we also smuggle sandpaper or saw dust to roughen the ball or in extreme case we do this time to time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjIDhTDq0fU
did you watch the video i posted in #71? it explains how to get this in baseball... and the same should... and does apply to softball... if you look at the movement on some of these slow motion replays you will see bullet spin movement and rpm's and seams can't account for that... this does...
also... part of what the video was talking about is how to sling it with a brand new cricket ball... using the seam and smooth spot only... they talk about a beat up ball later... but thanks for your reply.... i'm getting difficulty even getting anyone to notice this...
Not sure what there is to notice? The mechanics and physics with respect to a 2 seam fastball are nothing new. And of course it applies to softball. It was my DD's bread and butter while playing at fairly high level in college and I teach it to every one of my pitchers. Do not understand your comment in #71 about bullet spin as none of the examples in the video were bullet spin. In fact the reason bullet spin does not move, only drifts and retains more velocity is due to the aerodynamic efficiency of bullet spin.
i understand that bullet spin is when the spin is facing directly forward so i apologise if i don't use the exact terminology you guys use... what i mean is a bullet spin that's offset or yawed about 1 inch in any direction... i saw a slow motion replay of rachel garcia that showed the kind of spin i'm referring to... at the stop points you can see her pinky on the smooth spot and if you follow the logos on the ball you will see she releases it with that same smooth spot facing forward but yawed a bit... this drift you speak of is actually due to this effect... if i'm not mistaken, a ball with precise bullet spin on it should not move at all since everything balances out...plus, if you throw this pitch without a smooth spot forward, then i don't see the movement i see when it is...
i've looked through a lot of the threads here on movement and what is see is you guys have this basically figured out but you don't know that the physics is there to support what you think... knowing the physics should help you refine everything... keep in mind that i pitch in slow pitch softball and i get a lot of movement using this... however, when it comes to fast pitch, i'm new to all this pitching stuff...
anyway... thanks for responding... i'm just trying to help out...