The Physics (and Myths) of Baseball

Some of the more useful facts I gathered from The Physics of Baseball:

The inclination of the arc of the swing does not strongly affect the velocity of the struck ball, but it does affect the mean angle at which the ball leaves the bat and, hence, the probability of hitting a very long ball and a home run. The great high-average line-drive hitters...swung the bat such that the barrel crossed the hitting region just in front of home plate, traveling upward on the same line that the average pitch is moving down....Then, if their bat position is correct but their timing is slightly off in their effort to hit the ball over second base, they still connect with the ball squarely...(p.98)

With a lower maximum frequency and the addition of a strong component of lower-frequency sound from the natural bat oscillation, the "crack" becomes more of a "thunk."...A onetime center fielder advised me that "when the ball is hit straight at you...if you hear the bat "crack," run back; if the sound is a "thunk," run in." (p.128)

Generally, the player who drills out his bat stuffs the hole with cork or rubber. But this added material serves more as a detriment than an advantage...that energy will not be effectively transferred to the ball...the extra material will then only slow the bat down a little and slightly reduce the distance a ball can be hit. Such a filler will take another 3 feet off a 400-foot drive. (p.137-8)