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This book is easy to read, jogs from one interesting facet of the game to another with ease. Sugests simple physics underlying each phenomenon but lacks enough math for a begining reader to repeat most examples for a middle school science project.
Though he himself states that the book is intended for those interested in baseball, not physics, I was often lost in his description of the physics. Using the ball's design as a basis, he goes on to discuss how the flight of that ball can be affected by wind, temperature, and altitude. It was not as simple as I had hoped. Throughout the next few chapters, he focuses specifically on the flight of the ball as it leaves the pitcher's hand and how pitchers have found waves to manipulate that flight in their advantage. After reading the book, I better understand the answers to these questions. Additionally, a batted ball's flight, even detailing the theoretical maximum flight distance of the ball (545 feet, by the way), is described. Do balls really go farther in Denver.
It is not only the pitchers and batters who need an understanding of physics to be successful in baseball, according to Adair. Luckily for baseball fans (at least those that appreciate a well-pitched game) pitchers understand principles of physics better than they think. In fact, anyone who needs to judge the flight of a ball in order to catch it better know that the batter's choice of bat and where the batter contacted the pitched ball will affect the direction and magnitude of his--the fielder's--pursuit. So, perhaps a physicist did not invent the game.
Beginning with the baseball itself, Adair delves into the design of the ball from its raised stitches to the bound cowhide cover and even to the rubber core. Why does a "corked" bat give a batter an advantage. Why are players now using lighter bats than the sluggers of the old days did. Yet, while Adair essentially answered my questions, it was somewhat difficult to get to those conclusions. So, essentially, as Adair describes in the book, every player on a baseball team utilizes principles of physics to be successful, whether he--the player--likes it or not.My desire for the book as I, a baseball fan, initially picked it up was to better understand baseball. The book exemplified that fact beautifully. Pitchers, he says, face the task of maximizing velocity when needed but changing speed and directions in order to keep the batter guessing. Now, that is certainly no fault of Adair.
Anyone who needs to run at maximum speed from base to base certainly should be aware that they won't be as fast as, say, Carl Lewis, since their start time is hindered by the efforts of the pitcher to "keep him honest." Even a player who needs to throw the ball from one part of the field to another must consider that his distance from the location of the desired landing point of the ball along with the weather conditions on that particular day will affect the velocity and trajectory with which he releases the ball. Why does a curveball curve. It is not that his descriptions were more difficult than needed but rather that baseball is not a simple game to describe fully. Despite that fact, it is nevertheless a complex game that simple people can watch, play, and enjoy.
Also, batted balls are treated as projectiles in motion as Adair explains how baseballs get the trajectory from wooden bats to either fly 400+ yards over the fence, or fly into the awaiting glove of an outfielder who has properly judged its flight time and position.While such insights give a baseball fan great appreciation for the skill and talent of baseball players, the book lacked a few essentials for this baseball fan. I have always loved baseball and was interested to see how The Physics of Baseball; 3rd Edition, by Robert K. There were definitely both pros and cons to the book. For instance, the author explains how pitchers get the ability to make such nasty pitches, by explaining release points, spin from grip positions, etc. Finally, it would have been interesting to hear about how steroids - due to their recent connection with baseball - would affect some of the physics that Adair explains in his book. Overall, I would give the book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.The largest plus was how the author broke down every aspect of the game and helped the reader appreciate the overlooked details of baseball.
Though the book was published in 2002, no references were made to current stars of that time, such as Derek Jeter or Randy Johnson. Adair, PhD., would supplement my appreciation for the game. Adair uses plenty of comparisons to baseball players, but many of the examples given seemed a little out of date. The author analyzed how physics affected hitting, pitching, and fielding, and no intricate details were left out. For example, Adair reveals that a batter has 75 milliseconds to look at a ball that has left a pitcher's hand, 50ms to think about the pitch (evaluating the spin, velocity, etc)., and 175ms to take action and swing the bat (making any necessary swing adjustments during this final time period).Adair further breaks down, using detailed physics equations, the logistics behind other elements of the game. The player references were a bit out of date.Also, the book was a little too heavy on little unrelated details, and did not in some cases relate the countless facts and calculations back into how they relate back to baseball.
Overall, a good read but is most appreciated by those who have a good background in both baseball and physics.
This book is great at explaining why things happen the way they do. I am actually using it as a reference for a study on the physics of softball.
I play baseball at Milton High School and this book not only helped me better understand the game of baseball but will also help me excel in the sport. I also recommend this book to any people that do not play or coach anymore or have kids or grandkids playing anymore. Robert Adair did a fantastic job writing The Physics of Baseball. In the novel, "the little things", such as laying bunts down and many more are covered and can help teams win games. I would also like to see other authors write similar novels about different sports, such as basketball and football. The physical evidence resulting from the tests performed and the various charts and graphs made all of the information easy to understand. It may change the style of coaching but for the better by making the coach pay more attention to small things and winning games.
This book is great for anyone that just loves the game of baseball or any physics geek that is curious how things work in America's past time. I just read this book and loved it. The information is can be helpful but can also be interesting to the average person. Coaches always say that "the little things" win and lose ballgames. I recommend this book to all players of the sport and definitely to all coaches of teams. I hope that Robert Adair will continue this "Series" and write a couple more books regarding the great sport of baseball. This book was a GREAT BUY.
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