Posted by: Jordan (jlew22_93@hotmail.com) on Sat May 21 09:49:37 2005

> There must be a math formula on bat speed increase and decrease with bat lenght and weight. Problem: With force constant (the swing), what is the change in bat speed with diferent bats. Bat 34in. 31oz.; bat 34in. 29oz.; bat 33in. 30oz.; bat 32in. 29oz. One formula that comes to mind is F=MA (Force = mass times exceleration). With the Force constant and the mass decreasing the exceleration increases. But added to the mix is that the shorter the bat the slower the sweet spot travels. Any help on this concept.
> > >
> > > Read Robert Adair's "The Physics of Baseball". It will be one of
> > the best $10 paperbacks on baseball you'll ever read.
> > >
> > > He goes into great length about this subject, and even proves that heavier bats (more mass) do in fact result in longer trajectories for batted balls. I can't quote with certainty what he details, but there is some offsetting that occurs when a heavier bat tries to
> > compensate for any (implied) reduction in bat speed.
> > >
> > > Over the years, I've come to believe (through observation with several youth programs) that bat speed helps generate the greatest gains for hitting with authority. I'm not saying that proper mechanics also play a part, because they certainly do! But at the younger ages, the minus 12 bats really help the kids generate some incredible bat speed.
> >
> > > -Deano
> >
> > >That is an interesting observation. So, with my twelve year old daughter, assuming that she uses the proper swing mechanics, would she create more power and thereby hit the ball further with a -12(31/19)bat or a -10 (30/20)bat. She seems to create more bat speed with the -12 bat.
> >
> > Phil C.
>
> Guys,
>
> Carefull, The VWbug is crusing 80mph and hits the Tractor trailer rig
> going 40mph head on. If the tractor trailer isn't looking he may notice a little bump. My son several years go used a 17oz bat for a few games, he swung the thing obviously fast, however in freeze frame there was obvious recoil. Another kid on the team had a old dented low tech bat -8oz and lead the league in Home runs. If you lose 5mph in batspeed but can swing the stick well, go for the heavier one, He/she will pick up most of that batspeed back anyway. Swing the heaviest stick available that doesn't swing you. talk about extremes, that same season my son switched to a 28oz old worth and crushed some serious shots with a bat that almost swung him as a 11 year old. settled with a 23 oz through to age 13, and his 14 year old season is comtemplating a -3 to prepare for HS in 04. trains over/under which is a must-do when moving up in weight. mechanics isn't a magic bullet to bat speed, just one of the factors to the equation, power training is a must-do either with good mechanics or bad.

>>>>jordan!1. Increase the mass of the bat
The more massive the bat, the more energy will be imparted to the ball. Sounds simple, right? The problem is, the heavier the bat, the harder it is to swing fast, and speed is more important than mass! Read on!


2. Increase the speed of the bat
In the energy equation above, you may have noticed that the velocity is squared. This means that any increase in speed you give the bat will result in a squared increase in energy! So it's more important to swing the bat fast than to have a heavier bat.

Here's a simple example. Suppose the bat weighs 5 kg, and you can ordinarily swing it at 20 m/s.
The energy you can impart to the ball is:


E = 0.5 * 5 * 202 = 1000 units of energy

Now let's double the mass of the bat. This time the energy given to the ball will be:


E = 0.5 * 10 * 202 = 2000 units of energy

The problem, of course, is that you won't be able to swing the heavier bat at 20 m/s any more. But let's ignore that complication for the moment, and look at what happens if we take the original bat and learn to swing it twice as fast:


E = 0.5 * 5 * 402 = 4000 units of energy!

Because the velocity is squared and the mass isn't, you get considerably more energy by increasing the speed of your swing than you do by using a heavier bat.
Batting coaches teach players how to swing faster and still make contact with the ball, in order to improve their batting percentage. This is a difficult skill to excel at, as mentioned before, unless you can do it by reflex, because the ball takes less than a second to reach you from the pitcher's release, and you have to start your swing earlier ... before you 'know' where the ball will be as it passes you! That's why even top players only get about one hit in three (batting average .333 or so).