Results of Best Pitchers (Mens) In The World Poll

[txnick]

News

1. Folkard (Hill United)
2. Kirkpatrick (NY Gremlins)
3. Manley (Kitchener Twins)
4. Pottolichio (CT Dukes)
5. Cleary (Toronto Gators)
6. Mata (not signed)
7. Whitten (NY Gremlins)
8. Skelton (Scarborough Force)
9. Mancha (California A's)
10. Urbeneja (CT Dukes)
11. McCoullough (NY Swashbucklers)
12. Koert (Kitchener Twins)
13. Scott (Scarborough Force)
14. Montero (Scarborough Force)
15. Humble (not signed)

 

[Greenmonsters]

I don't see Hal on this list???

 

[James Smith]

Lozza disagrees with this list.

 

[Ajaywill]

And for any of you that think a rise ball doesn't rise...go watch any one of these guys......

 

[starsnuffer]

And for any of you that think a rise ball doesn't rise...go watch any one of these guys......

So, you are saying that observation is the proper method for determining the scientific validity of an optical illusion? BRILLIANT! why didn't we think of that before?

-W

 

[RetiredCoach]

Does a Rise Ball rise?

Of course it does! If you release it at the hip and it comes across the plate shoulder high, that's
about a 3 foot rise. The Rise Ball is released at an upward trajectory and the backspin on the
ball keeps it from dropping as much as it would if it had topspin.

And no, the backspin is not what makes it rise per se. If the ball were released at a level trajectory
it would drop albeit not as fast as a drop ball.

 

[Cannonball]

I'm feeling ill again. I suggest we save all of the time and cut and paste all of the links to all of the threads on the riseball rising or not. LOL!

 

[riseball]

Another riseball debate

 

[txnick]

Probably old news...

AASU Applied Physics: Mullenax | Rise Ball Physics

Abstract

The rise ball is a dominant pitch in fastpitch softball. The velocity and backwards rotation are two of the factors that play a role in causing the ball to actually rise. Video clippings of several skilled pitchers and a pitching machine will be used to study the flight of the ball. The overall data collected will determine if the rise ball actually rises above the trajectory path and "jumps" over home plate, or if it is merely an illusion to batters.

Background

For years, people tried to determine if a curveball (in baseball) curved and a fastball (in baseball) jumped at home plate. Through must research and debate, it has been shown that curveballs do in fact curve, but fastballs do not jump, but rather, fall slower than expected causing the hitter to perceive that the ball has risen.1 The motion of the fastball is due to its backward spin that produces a lower air pressure above the ball than below the ball. This difference in air pressure produces an upward lift on the ball. Thus the Bernoulli Principle goes into effect. Please note that the fastball does not rise though; it simply falls slower than a ball without a backward rotation.2

In 1853, Heinrich Gustav Magnus developed the concept of the Magnus Effect while at the University of Berlin.3 To simply explain the Magnus Effect: it is the force perpendicular to the spin axis and the direction of motion. For example, the Magnus Effect causes artillery shells to have a systematic shift.4 In fastpitch softball, the rise ball has the same type of rotation as the fastball. The motion of the rise ball is shown in Figure 1. The top of the ball is rotating toward the pitcher. Therefore, the force produced by the Magnus Effect is up, or in the opposite direction as the weight of the ball. For the rise ball to rise above its initial line of trajectory, the force due to the Magnus Effect must be greater than the softball's weight.

Many message boards on the Internet are full of debates between those that believe the rise ball rises and those that believe the rise of the rise ball is just an illusion as it is with the baseball.5 However, no research on the rise ball has been published. According to the coaches that have been interviewed and Mr. Ernie Parker, who has coached some of the best pitchers, no one has studied the physics behind the rise ball. On the message boards, those that say the ball cannot rise state a variety of reasons including: (1) the mass is too great, (2) the pitcher cannot get the ball to rotate with sufficient angular speed, and (3) the fastball does not rise, so the rise ball cannot either.

The aerodynamic forces acting on the softball are far from simple because of several reasons. The threads on the seams disturb the air. We will not go into great depth of the aerodynamics forces, but rather focus on the Magnus Force, Fm [pounds-force], which can be expressed as:
Fm = KfVCd
Where f is the spin frequency [rpm], V [mph] is the velocity of the softball, Cd is the drag coefficient, and K is a constant that has been estimated to be approximately 2E-6.1 If Fm is greater than W(=mg), then the ball will lift. It is our goal to determine if Fm is ever greater than W and then determine why.

 

[coach james]

Probably old news...

AASU Applied Physics: Mullenax | Rise Ball Physics

Abstract

The rise ball is a dominant pitch in fastpitch softball. The velocity and backwards rotation are two of the factors that play a role in causing the ball to actually rise. Video clippings of several skilled pitchers and a pitching machine will be used to study the flight of the ball. The overall data collected will determine if the rise ball actually rises above the trajectory path and "jumps" over home plate, or if it is merely an illusion to batters.

Background

For years, people tried to determine if a curveball (in baseball) curved and a fastball (in baseball) jumped at home plate. Through must research and debate, it has been shown that curveballs do in fact curve, but fastballs do not jump, but rather, fall slower than expected causing the hitter to perceive that the ball has risen.1 The motion of the fastball is due to its backward spin that produces a lower air pressure above the ball than below the ball. This difference in air pressure produces an upward lift on the ball. Thus the Bernoulli Principle goes into effect. Please note that the fastball does not rise though; it simply falls slower than a ball without a backward rotation.2

In 1853, Heinrich Gustav Magnus developed the concept of the Magnus Effect while at the University of Berlin.3 To simply explain the Magnus Effect: it is the force perpendicular to the spin axis and the direction of motion. For example, the Magnus Effect causes artillery shells to have a systematic shift.4 In fastpitch softball, the rise ball has the same type of rotation as the fastball. The motion of the rise ball is shown in Figure 1. The top of the ball is rotating toward the pitcher. Therefore, the force produced by the Magnus Effect is up, or in the opposite direction as the weight of the ball. For the rise ball to rise above its initial line of trajectory, the force due to the Magnus Effect must be greater than the softball's weight.

Many message boards on the Internet are full of debates between those that believe the rise ball rises and those that believe the rise of the rise ball is just an illusion as it is with the baseball.5 However, no research on the rise ball has been published. According to the coaches that have been interviewed and Mr. Ernie Parker, who has coached some of the best pitchers, no one has studied the physics behind the rise ball. On the message boards, those that say the ball cannot rise state a variety of reasons including: (1) the mass is too great, (2) the pitcher cannot get the ball to rotate with sufficient angular speed, and (3) the fastball does not rise, so the rise ball cannot either.

The aerodynamic forces acting on the softball are far from simple because of several reasons. The threads on the seams disturb the air. We will not go into great depth of the aerodynamics forces, but rather focus on the Magnus Force, Fm [pounds-force], which can be expressed as:
Fm = KfVCd
Where f is the spin frequency [rpm], V [mph] is the velocity of the softball, Cd is the drag coefficient, and K is a constant that has been estimated to be approximately 2E-6.1 If Fm is greater than W(=mg), then the ball will lift. It is our goal to determine if Fm is ever greater than W and then determine why.

This was written by the night shift janitor at the local university. He's currently being counseled by Robin Williams.