The magical riseball story.

[Out in Left Field]

Like I've said, I can toss a ball underhand into the air, hit one in the air with my bat (regardless of spin or not), kick a soccer ball up a bit; breaking gravity for awhile is not that hard. Rise is not always spin but trajectory and I would guess, some force applied to the ball (such as when you kick a soccer ball, let's say at the bottom of it). And then every ball comes down. So I don't get all the fighting over this.

 

[Sparky Guy]

So I don't get all the fighting over this.

It comes down to if you believe what you see or what science tells you happens. It's as simple as that.

For me. I know what I believe I see, but I'll take the word of people who can launch something from our planet and reach a moving object millions of miles away.

 

[BoardMember]

It comes down to if you believe what you see or what science tells you happens. It's as simple as that.

For me. I know what I believe I see, but I'll take the word of people who can launch something from our planet and reach a moving object millions of miles away.

Ya no Sh*t Sherlock!

 

[Eric F]

... I don't get all the fighting over this.

It's the intarwebz. There's this or [4-letter word for video with adult content].

 

[FrozenRope]

I'll say this with all the confidence in the world. Riseballs don't "BREAK" Upward. They "TRAVEL" upward, due to trajectory. Hal, if you'll swear that you threw even a single riseball that changed trajectory even One One Thousandth of One half of One degree.....against gravity....... Your eyes were tricked....just like the batter. I won't call you a bull $h1++er, but rather a victim of the illusion. I'd only believe that the ball broke upward if you told me you were pitching to Toto when the tornado swept him, and your ball up over the rainbow.

 

[Txwalt]

I don't have a dog in this. But, any one who has faced a good knuckle ball will tell u that it defies logic. If it didn't, we wouldn't have knuckle ball pitchers throwing one after another.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I don't have a dog in this. But, any one who has faced a good knuckle ball will tell u that it defies logic. If it didn't, we wouldn't have knuckle ball pitchers throwing one after another.

Knuckleballs are much more straightforward than rise balls. Hard to hit, yes, but I think everyone agrees that they do move unpredictably and that this is a result of having no spin so the ball is more susceptible to small pressure variations in flight (wind/pressure/vortices created by the seams). The riseball causes a stir because there are a lot of people that claim it has an upwards arc due to spin and speed. An arc that has never been caught on video btw.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

I don't have the patience anymore to brush off my math/science skills of old and do any re-confirmation of any data on whether a riseball can truly move up by itself or not due to speed/spin, BUTTTTTTTTTT -

As the father of a true riseballer I can tell you this => the difference between a true riseball and a pitch that a girl gets low on and drives the trajectory upwards is DRAMATIC.

Both types of pitchers will get K's off of inexperienced batters but the "up-trajectory" riseballer will get good batters to stoically stand there with a smirk on her face and wait for the next "real" pitch every time.

There are two "mysteries" in this sb sport and they are illegal pitches & riseballs. It's not because either one has any black magic in play it's just that sooooooo many have sooooooo many different perspectives on the topic.

 

[CoachFP]

The rise does gain elevation throughout the distance traveled. It is also dropping. Without video to show proof of ball that curves upward, we're stuck.

Ken, you seem like a bright fellow. But you say that the riseball is gaining elevation and then in the next sentence it is "dropping". Can't have it both ways. The ball will eventually start dropping but not between the pitcher and the catcher. In one with proper spin the ball will be rising the entire way through the zone and not flatten out or drop. That is a riseball. Forget about hops and changing planes and all of that.

 

[JJsqueeze]

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Overall elevation gain while "dropping" meaning the original path is starting to level out and will eventually go negative. Dropping means it is in the act of, not that it has actually dropped yet.

Darn- my little underscore drawing did not come through. OK just picture a riseball that rises all the way through but the rate of rise decreases at the end, this would be "gaining elevation" while dropping meaning the rate of rise is decreasing, therefore it is dropping even though it has not actually gone negative. Same concept as decelerating but not actually going in reverse yet.