Abstract
A good place to start our discussion of the physics of baseball and softball will be to examine the basic equipment used, namely bats and balls. We will have a lot more to say about bats and balls in other chapters, but first it will be useful to look at the basic properties of bats and balls, mention briefly some of the history of the subject, and then consider how bats are designed to appreciate the main differences between solid wood, and hollow aluminum or composite bats
The ball is a sphere weighing not less than 5 nor more than 5 1/4 ounces avoirdupois and measuring not less than 9 inches nor more than 9 1/2 in. in circumference. It shall be formed by yarn wound around a small core of rubber, cork or combination of both and covered by two pieces of white horsehide or cowhide tightly stitched together. The coefficient of restitution (COR) of a baseball cannot exceed 0.555.
Wood bat. The bat must be a smooth, rounded stick not more than 2 3/4 in. in diameter at its thickest part nor more than 42 in. in length. Nonwood bat: The maximum length is 36 in. and the maximum diameter is 2 5/8 in.
– NCAA Baseball Rule 1, Sections 11 and 12, 2010
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Cross, R. (2011). Bats and Balls. In: Physics of Baseball & Softball. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8113-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8113-4_2
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