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The Physics of Baseball (3rd Edition) | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert K. Adair
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
Buy Used: $3.01
You Save: $9.94 (77%)
New (28) Used (28) from $3.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 72912
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 0060084367
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3570153
EAN: 9780060084363
ASIN: 0060084367
Publication Date: May 1, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Blending scientific fact and sports trivia, Robert Adair examines what a baseball or player in motion does-and why. How fast can a batted ball go? What effect do stitch patterns have on wind resistance? How far does a curve ball break? Who reaches first base faster after a bunt, a right- or left-handed batter? The answers are often surprising -- and always illuminating. This newly revised third edition considers recent developments in the science of sport such as the neurophysiology of batting, bat vibration, and the character of the "sweet spot." Faster pitchers, longer hitters, and enclosed stadiums also get a good, hard scientific look to determine their effects on the game. Filled with anecdotes about famous players and incidents, The Physics of Baseball provides fans with fascinating insights into America's favorite pastime.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
 WTF? May 27, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Wait a minute...is this for real? Why would anyone, except for total pencil neck nerds, want to study physics, and on top of that of baseball?
This must be some sort of joke, right? Baseball is for men, physics and science and stuff like that is for weakling little sissy geeks. I am real strong because I play sports. I get the girls. Girls don't like physics and thats why nerds like physics and never get any. If I ever see anyone at the Sox game with a protractor or a calculator, I will smash'em up.
Physics has nothng to do with baseball, there is no physics in this.
Steven Hawking can't even walk, let alone hit a baseball. Think about it.
 A Great Read For The Average Baseball Fan December 4, 2007
The Physics of Baseball is a great book that should be read by any baseball fan who wants to understand the reasons behind why certain things in the game happen as they do. Robert Adair, a professor at Yale, informatively discusses nearly every aspect of the game through a scientific view. Adair uses models, graphs, and equations to further explain the content of the book. The average person will probably not completely understand every detail about the physics of the game, but will grasp the general concepts with ease. If you do have a good understanding of physics, then you will comprehend everything in the book without a problem. The book is really intended to be read by people interested in baseball, not physics. After reading the book you come away with a greater appreciation for the game and its players. Baseball players really have to understand the concepts of the game and be very gifted to play baseball. Scientifically, it seems quite improbable that a batter will successfully come in contact with a ball at such high speeds, but in reality the best major leaguers do it about a third of the time. Baseball players really know what they are doing when playing the sport. For example, a pitcher has to able to know how to make baseballs curve and change directions in certain ways.
Adair provides reasoning to what baseballs do in motion. If you have always been absolutely puzzled on how a curveball curves, then you will find the answers in this book. You will also understand the great impact outside factors have daily on the game. In a windy stadium, your batted ball might land 30 feet shorter than its normal length. Have you ever wondered why coaches teach you to hit the ball on the "sweet spot" of the bat? Adair explains how vibration and softness relate to this idea. Adair discusses wooden vs. aluminum bats, judging fly balls, and running the bases. Did you know that there is a specific limit to the distance that a batted ball can travel? You can learn this distance and the reasons behind it in the book. Adair talks about the slider, screwball, and fastball in describing the scientific reasons for how they act. You will learn the different swing motions that certain hitters use in order to hit a line-drive or home-run. Did you know that the contact between the baseball and bat last about 1/1000th of a second? Adair also ties in some controversies of the day, such as the corked bat. Adair surprisingly explains why the corked bat is commonly misconceived and its actual effect on a baseball. In the book, Adair even leaves some technical notes at the end of each chapter for the more scientifically advanced people. The book is an interesting read for anyone curious about the reasons for why things in the game act as they do and anyone looking for a fulfilling, quick read.
 Too heavy on the math February 18, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I know this book is about the "physics" of baseball, but for the average fan/baseball enthusiast, it is a little too heavy on the theory side of explaining the mechanics of baseball. Overall an interesting read.
You need to know a significant amount of math and physics to understand it November 23, 2006
This book is one that the serious fan will enjoy, but only if you understand a good deal of physics. Some of the problems considered are which bat is best, considering variable length, shape, weight and the type of wood. To determine which of each is best, it is necessary to understand the physics of compressible bodies and how that will change the distance the ball will travel.
The physics of a pitched ball is also covered in detail. Understanding this requires knowledge of turbulence, and differential forces on a moving object. Knowing this, it is possible to explain how a baseball can be made to curve, how a fastball hops and how a knuckle ball knuckles. Some of the most interesting results were:
*) A batted ball should only be able to travel at most 545 feet in standard meteorological conditions.
*) The contact between a baseball and a bat lasts approximately 1/1000th of a second.
*) A 10-mile per hour headwind will turn a 400-foot drive into a 370 foot one.
Each chapter ends with a collection of technical notes that extend the topic of the chapter. This material is where the mathematics gets the heaviest.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that none of the "common knowledge" accrued by baseball players was proven false. Curve balls do curve, and sometimes quite a bit. While a fast ball does not really hop, it does sink less than it otherwise would due to wind resistance, which to human experience, makes it appear to hop. I really enjoyed this book, as a mathematician it was fun to read the formulas that make the curve ball that I could never hit possible.
Science of baseball October 17, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It taught you the science behind pitching and hitting a baseball. However it does not make the next step which is how to apply the science of the game to actual play.
Enjoyable read because it gave scientific reasons as to why coaches teach players what they do.
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