I have been thinking about the statement in softball that a 68 MPH fast pitch softball equates to around a 95 MPH baseball pitch.

Now, maybe some of you that know more about this than I can help out.

It has been my understanding that the pitch speed is an instantaneous grab when the ball leaves the pitcher's hand and that the ball speed that the batter sees in the batter's box (in both games)is actually less due to drag, etc.

I would think that with a larger softball you would have a faster drop off in speed than you would a baseball thus making it not really a straight line calculation.

Don't get me wrong, I couldn't hit either one. I guess the engineer in me is coming out. . . .

Anybody got any thoughts?

Take it to the physics board.........

You are likely right but a 68 mile pitch will cover 43 feet in no time at all, so any slowing will be negligible.

sexist!

I can see that Nik and you are probably right.

figure it out. you should know simple kinematics if you're an engineer.

I think it has to do with reaction time. A 68 mph softball pitch gives you the same reaction time as a 95 mph fastball. I'm not an engineer but I think that is what they are talking about.

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you should know simple kinematics if you're an engineer.

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Only enough to be dangerous at this point in my career. . . .

It takes .43 secs for a 95 mph pitch to travel 60' 6" and the same time for a 68 mph pitch to travel 43' so the comparison assumes that those speeds are average from the pitcher to the plate.

I don't know if one slows more than the other.

here's the math:

68 mph translates to (68*5280)/3600 = 99.733 feet per second.

that over 43 feet gives you .43 seconds of reaction time.

in baseball, the mount is 60'6" from the plate, so for a ball to travel 60'6" in .43 seconds, it has to be going 140.7 feet per second, which translates to 95.9 mph

Awesome, I was right.

Thanks and I stand corrected. . . .

you wanna see the awesome power of a softball pitch watch this....and i also explains the reaction time regarding softball and baseball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_de3HJvO-N8

Are we talking about the center of the ball or the outside surface of the ball? If we are talking about the outside surface, which is what the bat actually contacts, than hitting the softball requires faster reaction speed. Yes, the center of the ball travels at the same speed as the outside surface, but the outside surface arrives at the plate sooner.

Next, we have to consider the diameter of the softball bats as opposed to the baseball bats.....the greater the diameter of the bat, the faster the outside surface of it will meet the outside surface of the ball...

We must also take in to account the friction factor of the outside surface of the softball with the air which will be a function of the smoothness of it. It can be greatly affected by what is on the ball such as dirt or sweat. It can also be affected by the properties of the air such as dew point.....

Carry on....



Franta Claus

You people are brilliant losers...

Just realize, when they say this tonight you will think of me - the brilliant loser!

Would you rather be hit in the nuts w/ a 68mph softball or a 95mph baseball - that is all that matters...

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_de3HJvO-N8

go to the 1:50 mark, and watch from there...holy crap, that whole being hit in the nuts, i'm gonna have to take the baseball on that one, good lord.

I get so tired of them saying it's the equivalent of a 98 mph fastball, as if to say it is as hard as hitting a baseball. First of all a baseball is much smaller, and coming at an angle which makes it much harder to hit squarely and get lift. Second, a baseball bat is shorter by nature, heavier, and you can not get the kind of flex as you can with a softball bat. It is much easier to hit a bigger ball with a longer bat that you can swing quicker, all the while considering the ball is coming in at a much flatter angle (which is more like the natural swing). Lastly, because the distance is so close in softball (and the ball so big compared to the hand) the change of speeds and ball movements are a lot lot less extreme. That alone makes hitting a baseball much harder. Not only is it as fast (equivalent wise as they say) but it also moves a lot more, and can change speeds more effectively.

Hitting in fast pitch softball is all about timing, if you shorten your step and swing you will hit it. You have a much bigger margin of error bec the ball is so big, and it always makes me laugh when they show people like john kruk missing softball pitches. What they dont show (and he said afterwards) is that after a few pitches he got his timing down and was hitting homeruns at will. The girls are just not as physically gifted so they struggle at the plate. If you watch a mens fast pitch softball game you see a lot more runs.

In conclusion, they need to stop touting the euiqavlent factor as if it's the same. I am a fan of softball for the most part, and am not against womens sports, it just irritates me being a former player and specifically a pitcher.

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coming at an angle which makes it much harder to hit squarely and get lift. Second, a baseball bat is shorter by nature, heavier, and you can not get the kind of flex as you can with a softball bat. It is much easier to hit a bigger ball with a longer bat that you can swing quicker, all the while considering the ball is coming in at a much flatter angle (which is more like the natural swing). Lastly, because the distance is so close in softball (and the ball so big compared to the hand) the change of speeds and ball movements are a lot lot less extreme. That alone makes hitting a baseball much harder. Not only is it as fast (equivalent wise as they say) but it also moves a lot more, and can change speeds more effectively.

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your ignorance is amazing but not unexpected.

IS the rubber at 45 feet?
Because in softball they release it about 5 or 6 feet in front of the rubber.

The same goes for baseball but it is a bigger factor in softball.

crocker what is ignorant about any of that? I assume you are going to say it's harder to hit the softball angle, but I was saying it's easier to get lift from that angle....not sure if that came out right the first time

On FSN the other night, they had their physics of sports show.

For reaction time, you had a little longer to react to a 95 MPH baseball than a 70 MPH softball. Also, they said a decending pitch (baseball) is easier to adjust to (hands work with gravity) than a rising pitch (softball).

On ESPN, Kruk said that he'd rather face Randy Johnson throwing 98 MPH than a softball pitcher because of the movement of the softball pitches.

dp

[This message has been edited by BeaumontAg05 (edited 6/2/2008 6:12p).]

Kruk also said on that same show that once he adjusted his feet, he was hitting them without a problem

Here's a reference for your viewing pleasure:

Pitch Speed
Baseball Softball
70 49.8
71 50.5
72 51.2
73 51.9
74 52.6
75 53.3
76 54.0
77 54.7
78 55.4
79 56.1
80 56.9
81 57.6
82 58.3
83 59.0
84 59.7
85 60.4
86 61.1
87 61.8
88 62.5
89 63.3
90 64.0
91 64.7
92 65.4
93 66.1
94 66.8
95 67.5
96 68.2
97 68.9
98 69.7
99 70.4
100 71.1