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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
Change-Up Your Perspective on Pitching, Hitting and Running, June 30, 2000
When I was a teenager, I did a science fair project looking at statistical analyses of baseball games to help understand how one could improve the strategy of the game from a general manager's perspective. In The 2,000 Percent Solution, I wrote about the potential levels of perfection for a baseball team. So I have long been hooked on what measurement could add to my understanding of baseball. What a pleasant surprise it was when I discovered this fine book that used measurements and analyses to go even further!Whenever I listen to former Big Leaguers talk about baseball on television, I get lost by half of what they say. While I can see fast balls falling on the way to the plate, the broadcasters are describing a "rising" fast ball. Suddenly, the ball moves strangely, and they refer knowledgeably to the pitcher throwing a "splitter." Then a knuckle ball pitcher comes in, and the catcher can't seem to ever control the ball because there is little spin. Why is that happening? What's going on here? If you have ever wondered about questions like these, The Physics of Baseball will fill you in and actually give you the ability to amaze others with your precise explanations why the unexpected is either perceived to be happening or is actually happening. When I was a teenager, baseball games usually lasted about 2 hours. Now, they are much longer. This book gives you a way to take advantage of that, by giving you more interesting things to talk about during the prolonged games. The author also takes on the many controversies of recent years, such as corked bats, scuffed balls, and extra pine tar on the bat. Although he did not have the resources or information to definitively answer some questions, his educated guesses are probably good enough for now. If you don't really want to understand physics, you can mainly focus on the graphs and illustrations that simply show the conclusions of Professor Adair's analyses. That simpler approach makes the book a much quicker and more exciting read. Physics is not my favorite subject, but I was impressed by how much this book was able to add to my understanding and potential enjoyment of watching a baseball game. I think it will probably do the same for you. Although he is a professor, the author has the humility to consider whatever the players talk about as a potentially important subject. One of the most interesting topics is an evalutation of why Babe Ruth used a bat that was both longer and heavier than any modern slugger would ever consider using. There are also references to "juiced balls" and playing baseball in Denver, and what the impact might be on home runs and a pitcher's e.r.a. Play ball!
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Why and How a Baseball Behaves As it Does, March 20, 2000
Ever wondered why a curve ball curves? Why major leaguers stretching for third often take a wide turn between first and second? Why bats seem to break much more often than they used to? This wonderful book contains the answers. Written by a Yale physicist, it contains well-documented but sometimes densely worded explanations of why and how a baseball, a bat and even the players behave as they do. Any serious fan of baseball will finish this book with an enhanced appreciation for the game. Not to mention the ability to speak intelligently about how grip and mechanics differ between pitchers throwing curves and sliders. The author has wisely chosen to address the questions posed most frequently by baseball lovers who aspire to higher knowledge. His only failure is his heavy reliance on technical academic language and somewhat mysterious graphs. It makes for a very enlightening but slow read.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A good thing to have on your shelf, not a great read, June 24, 2003
While this book is considered a classic and is cited in many articles about the game, The Physics of Baseball is pretty dry. Granted, I am not a physicist, but an avid baseball fan. After reading numerous news articles and hearing about the book on baseball shows, I picked up a copy of this book. While I found things like the physics of a curveball or physics of a corked bat interesting, a lot of the discussion was over my head, which granted may say more about me than the distinguished author.However, the problem with this book is that once it loses a reader, it is hard to get back on track. This book almost seems more of a reference book than a book to be read cover-to-cover. Surely, it is a novel, incredible contribution to an area that has been neglected, but I am happy (for now) to remain a fan and let the physics take care of themselves.
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
WTF?, May 27, 2008
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.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Good for laymen or experts, in both physics and baseball.., June 1, 2001
I thought this book was good for the most part. It gives great discussions on topics like bat types and different pitches (curve, fastball, etc). It dispells myths about corked bats (they don't really help) and rising fastballs (they don't rise).Most results of his studies are presented in tabular format, so it will be easy to get the basics of the book even if you don't understand all of the physics. Personally, I had trouble understanding the sections about curve balls. I think this is more of a personal hang-up. Even though I have an engineering degree, I have never quite grasped the physics of spinning objects.. Otherwise, I thought this was a good book. Just not quite great to earn a 5 Star..
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A little tough to follow but good all-around, June 1, 2001
Many interesting topics are covered in this book, such as bat types, various pitches, and flight of the ball, just to name a few. Several myths are dispelled, including the use of corked bats and "rising" fastballs.Even though I have an engineering degree, I found some of the discussion of the curve ball to be confusing. I have always had trouble with the physics of spinning objects, and this book did not allow me to overcome my problem. However, this is a book that most people will understand. The results are presented in table format so that even a casual reader can get the basics of what the author is saying..
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A little tough to follow but good all-around, June 1, 2001
Many interesting topics are covered in this book, such as bat types, various pitches, and flight of the ball, just to name a few. Several myths are dispelled, including the use of corked bats and "rising" fastballs.Even though I have an engineering degree, I found some of the discussion of the curve ball to be confusing. I have always had trouble with the physics of spinning objects, and this book did not allow me to overcome my problem. However, this is a book that most people will understand. The results are presented in table format so that even a casual reader can get the basics of what the author is saying..
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A good book if you have the background, December 11, 2003
The Physics of Baseball is not physics text - it uses the principles of physics to explain things like why a curveball curves, what happens when the bat hits the ball, how far a ball can be hit, and so on. The book is not math-heavy, but it does assume the reader has some knowledge of basic physics and can follow technical discussions.The only part of the book that disappointed me was the discussion of corked bats. Adair uses a theoretical model to prove that a corked bat doesn't help - that corking a bat will make the ball travel only a few feet farther at most. While he may be right in his conclusion, I think his theory should be tested with experiment. A batter hitting a pitched ball is a complex system, and it's quite possible Adair's model is too simple.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Written for neither the physicist or the baseball fan, August 5, 2001
The problem with "The Physics Of Baseball" is not that it doesn't cover the topic... it's that it doesn't cover the topic for baseball fans or physicists. One would think that a book of this sort would be tailored to either of these two audiences, but it seems to have been haphazardly thrown together, and unfortunately enough, printed on cheap paper. It's not a horrible book, but by no means does it satisfy the niche it intends to.Physicists will find the book tedious and boring. The physics found in this book pale in comparison to those in a first semester college textbook. Equations are provided at the end of the chapter, forcing the reader to earmark and flip while reading in order to make any sense of the numbers. He is also occasionally guilty of using poor physical comparisons, and while he apologizes in technical notes, even amateur physicists will no doubt be angry at his wanton misuse of their craft. Baseball fans will no doubt find the book sterile and textbook-like. Fans rely on the stories and personalities of the game, and while using anecdotal evidence is practicing poor science, it doesn't help that Adair takes 18 pages before mentioning the name of a single baseball player. The knuckleball gets barely a page. And while there's certainly a wealth of information for baseball fans, the appeal of this book is akin to that of an annual report for a company you're not vested in: lots of numbers, all of them adding up to something... but do you really care? And though the second edition is dated 1994, it already appears outdated. One of Adair's hypotheses (and indeed an important one, as it's quoted on the back cover), is that a batted ball should be able to travel no farther than 545 feet. He again pulls a number of figures out of the air to support his theory. Witness Manny Ramirez at SkyDome on June 3, 2001. He hit a 491 foot home run, indoors, off a 75 mph meatball from Chris Carpenter. Using his own calculations, a faster pitch and a modest tail wind easily push it past 545 feet. Has the game changed so radically in 7 years? As mentioned above, this is not a horrible book, but it is sorely lacking. I'm not sure, though, whether there's a better alternative.
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