News story

Softball 101: Game of Physics

Jan. 1, 2001 – Senior Softball-USA

Physicists have made tremendous strides in defining the elementary particles of life - and have even made some sense out of the forces of the universe. But they have just begun to unlock the science of softball.

The mysteries of the sport are being solved slowly, piece by piece. Theoretical physicists are quantifying the qualities of bats and balls, standard reaction times, and even the way a little spin created by a multi-wall bat affects the flight of a ball.

The Science of Softball is a new course of study. Many of the theories and formulas, in fact, have been developed in just the past few years.

What has been amazing has been the rapid spread of these findings throughout Senior Softball - almost as soon as they are released.

In fact, if you listen closely during many senior softball games, you will hear the scholars of the sport - which is just about anyone playing it ˆ pontificate on BPF factors, and Compression and COR Ratings.

While many of the players may not completely understand the science behind the formulas, seniors know these principles affect the way they play the game. Even top physicists admit that mapping the forces that govern the universe may be easier than explaining all of the facets of even a single softball game.

"In view of the successes of physical analysis in understanding the arcane features of nature - such as the properties of the elementary particles and fundamental forces that define our universe - it may seem curious that the physics of baseball is not at all under control," wrote Yale Professor Robert K. Adair's in his landmark book, "The Physics of Baseball."

Fortunately we are beginning to understand pieces of the game - the structure of the equipment, how it reacts during a game, the effect of the field conditions and the movement of players.

The best known - and most controversial - science of the sport has revolved around bat and ball safety.

Today most national organizations recognize bats that meet 1.20 bpf standards or the ASA 2000 standard, which are both based on the same testing method. That method takes a ball traveling at a set speed (60 mph) and measures the effect of it hitting the bat.

The bpf standard measures the speed at which the bat moves after impact and the ASA 2000 method measures the speed of the ball after impact.

The physics behind the test has to do with the energy transfer at the time of impact, and the deformation of the bat and ball.

Ball performance is affected by two standards: the COR rating, which measures liveliness, and the Compression Rating, which measures hardness.

The Compression Ratings just popped to the surface a few years ago and already most national organizations have adopted standards. SSWC adopted the first combination ball standard for seniors ˆ .47 COR rating and .525 Compression Rating. Ball ratings for other organizations range from .44 COR to 375 Compression Rating. (see www.softballrating.com for more information on each association).

The Science of Softball also takes into account the way a ball is hit: the spin, speed and trajectory.

And the players may not be theoretical physicists, but the computer we call a brain does some very complex - and quick - scientific calculations every time a ball is hit.

Consider a simple hit to the outfield.

It takes about 5 seconds for the average ball to travel to the outfield after it is hit.

However, the outfielder really only has about 3 seconds to react.

In the first 2 seconds, according to Adair's "The Physics of Baseball," the outfielder can't tell whether the ball will fall 50 feet short, come right at him or fly 50 feet over his head.

If the outfielder takes a single step forward before discovering that the ball is actually traveling over his head, he loses 1.8 seconds, or almost half the time he has to catch the ball, according to Adair's calculations.

The beauty of the Science of Softball is that the study of the sport means playing it - school was never so much fun.