Posted by: Major Dan (markj89@charter.net) on Wed Nov 27 10:41:53 2002

> Major Dan,
>
> You are sligthly off. It is possible to be decelerating at the point at which you reach maximum batspeed. Obviously, you would not be decelarating up to the point of maximum batspeed or else you would never gain a maximum. My point was if your bat was at maximum bat speed at contact (ie ball contacts) any time afterward the bat would be decelerating and not accelerating through the ball. Although you are right that the ball is on the bat for only a very short time. As for momentum, you are correct momentum is mass times velocity. But we are not necessarily just looking at the momentum of the bat or the ball seperately. We are looking at the conservation of momentum of the system which is not a totally elastic collision (ie. two objects head in opposite directions collide and return in a direction from which they were coming from)
>
> I didn't say my theory was correct. I was just trying to provoke some thought. If maximum batspeed is achieved when both arms become fully extended then why aren't most great hitters in that position at contact. There has to be a reason. I know batspeed is a major component to how much power a hitter has but maybe there are other things that must be accounted for.
>
>
I have been accused of voodoo science before but I fear I've met my match here.

de·cel·er·ate ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d-sl-rt)
v. de·cel·er·at·ed, de·cel·er·at·ing, de·cel·er·ates
v. tr.
To decrease the velocity of.

how can you decrease your velocity to its maximum? this is not thought provoking, it is illogical. Please explain.

"if your bat was at maximum bat speed at contact...any time afterward the bat would be decelerating and not accelerating through the ball"

What matters - velocity at impact or acceleration after contact (when the ball is already gone). Or are you saying that the bat must accelerate during contact? how many mph will the bat gain in 1/2000 sec? Explain how 'accelerating through the ball' matters.

"We are looking at the conservation of momentum of the system which is not a totally elastic collision "
what does that mean? explain a totally elastic collision and why bat to ball is not one. I don't understand what you are talking about here.

"If maximum batspeed is achieved when both arms become fully extended then why aren't most great hitters in that position at contact. There has to be a reason."
yes there is a reason and other posts have alluded to it. Consider that there is a much greater degree of difficulty doing it AND timing a 90+mph pitch than other methods that generate fast but not fastest batspeed with greater ability to successfully make solid contact.
I think you'd find that the best slo-pitch softball hitters may actually make contact with both arms extended -max batspeed. But they have much easier timing requirements.