Re: [Phys-l] Baseball

[rgrandy@pop.mail.rice.edu]

I believe most major league pitchers are careful not to step on the 
foul line when returning to the dugout.  Some are very subtle, others 
more obvious.  But I don't know of any physics that backs up this 
preference.

On the other hand, it is possible that there is some psychological or 
neurophysiological reason for the typical pitchers posture, perhaps 
it helps them concentrate on the pitch and ignore the crowd, etc. 
Optics and mechanics aren't  the only elements in baseball.

Richard Grandy
Philosophy & Cognitive Sciences
Rice University
Houston TX USA


> At 13:29  -0500 10/22/06, E Muehleisen wrote:
> > II   fear that you are overlooking the correct answer on the question as to
> > why the pitcher bends forward, sometimes, to read the signal from the
> > catcher. Baseball like most sports is highly idiosyncratic. If a particular
> > attitude, motion, manner of spitting, etc looks neat to the viewer it is
> > readily adopted by others. Every youngster I knew or coached who watched
> > major league pitchers put a hand on the knee, leaned forward with the ball
> > behind the back and read the signs from the catcher. Once seen nearly every
> > young feller has adopted the same procedure. In modern parlance, such
> > behavior was cool. Note, however, some pitchers stand tall with ball in
> > glove and glove about chin level. Not all are cool, thank goodness.
> Careful observation should show that the second stance is normally
> taken when there are runners on base, and the pitcher has an interest
> in keeping them as close to the base bag as possible to inhibit their
> stealing the next base. the stance in question here is the one
> usually used by the pitcher when there are no runners on base, or the
> possibility of stealing is nil, even with runners on.
>
> Nevertheless, the observation that the stance is "cool" probably has
> some merit. World class athletes are notorious for being
> superstitious, and if they have been imitating some famous pitcher
> since they were little, they might believe that that stance has
> something to do with their success, and they don't want to "break the
> spell" by changing it.
>
> Hugh
> --
>
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