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For the math geeks out there
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I'm wondering if it would be possible to calculate the maximum distance a player can hit a baseball. Factoring in maximum effective launch angle, pitch speed, ball density and shape, maximum capable bat speed, player size / weight, perfect weather and humidity conditions, elevation (Coors Field versus Citi Field for example), time of day (night or sunny day / cloudy day).
My guess would be 575 ft would be the farthest you could ever hit a ball if everything were to line up in its ideal setting.
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Calling Dallas & Skin... Calling Dallas & Skin...
Mantle has hit some and Reggie Jackson that were thought to be around 600 feet. They both could crush the ball.
There are too many variables that I don't know (properties of the bat and ball, especially), and TBH, even if I knew them I don't know if my math skills would be up to the task or not. That said, I think 500 feet is about the maximum you can get in "normal" conditions, and as far as I know every HR hit farther than that was wind-aided (Mantle's record HR was with a very strong wind). The other variable that departs from "normal" is air density, so even without help from the wind a HR could go 500+ feet in Coors, or on an especially hot, dry day.
So my guess is that the OP's guess of 575 is probably pretty close, but it would take an especially hot day in Denver with a good strong wind blowing out to get there.
I saw a calculation somewhere recently (espn.com?). Conclusion was that it wasn't as far as it used to be because the buildings around the ballparks were higher now, I think.
The variables probably cannot be duplicated pitch to pitch.
Pitcher would need to throw the ball with the same spin rate (is ball spinning down like a curve or up like a 4 seam FB) , velocity, angle and trajectory.
Batters would need to do the same. The ball would need to be the same (new) every pitch. Nowadays they change it often as a touch of dirt and catcher gets ball out of game. If you have ever played softball the hardness of the ball changed throughout the game.
With that said exit velocity and launch angle are the main factors. Max distance requires a launch angle of 45 degrees. You can add any change to pitch velocity to exit velocity to try and keep that part of the equation the same.
Wind speed and direction could change during flight of the ball. Bat speed can be easily figured out but highest ever exit velocity is all you need to know. Plug in a exit velocity of a Stanton or Judges at 120 MPH and 45 degree angle gets you close in the physics equation I have long forgot..
Is anybody here an actuary? I would bet Rawlings could get you friction coefficients.
The MLB home run hitting contest could be a good indication.
This calculation could be done for one event and you could make it the best day at coors field.
Yes the longest HR's were probably wind aided but to keep this a standard equation we should keep it close or even zero blowing directly out Or do we factor in hurricane force winds.
In the end I betcha the estimate of 575 -600 is very close.
1948-76 Topps FB Sets
FB & BB HOF Player sets
1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
Add 30 feet if they are on the clear.
This is the part where I know my math skills aren't up to the task, because while your statement is true in standard HS/college physics - which is all I know, and where objects in motion are subject only to the initial force and gravity - it is not true in the real world where they also face resistance from the air. I don't know the angle at which max distance is achieved in the real world (and it would vary depending on temp/humidity), but I know it's considerably less than 45 degrees.
If you did hit a 120 mph shot at a 45 degree angle without air resistance, the ball would land 966 feet away, so air resistance is a huge factor here, not just something that matters at the margins.
I never took differential equations in college. If I did then I could have taken physical chemistry for a chemistry major. My attempt to reason is an excuse to say I don't have the math background to answer the question.
This physics range equation only works for a flat surface. Like a baseball field. In this equation of a projectile following a parabolic flight path the max launch angle is exactly 45 degrees.
Is this question for max distance one for perfect conditions or realistic??? Even if we standardize this question to "repeatable" perfect conditions (no wind, standard temp and humidity) there are still other factors. I had mentioned baseball coefficient of friction. Even keeping this standard how is the ball spinning? Assuming max distance requires a backspin like a 4 seam fastball.. After all nobody hits a knuckleball of the bat. To make the ball go up you need to hit toward the bottom.. The variables can be unlimited.
I never be able to understand quantum physics either. How can a subatomic particle be in two places at the same time? or how can there be up to 11 parallel universes in string theory?
Where is Spock when you need him.
1948-76 Topps FB Sets
FB & BB HOF Player sets
1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
I’ve tried to copy and past the calculations but it comes out garbled. Depending on the altitude (Denver) and the maximum speed of a pitch (103 mph ) my highest number after many tries was 612 ft.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
I would think there are too many variables to come up with a definitive answer, however...key word "measured".
Folkard, Claire. Guinness World Records 2003. Bantam, 2003: 312. "The longest measured home run in a Major League Game is 193 meters (634 ft) by Mickey Mantle (USA), when playing for the New York Yankees against the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium, Detroit, Michigan, USA, on September 10, 1960."
A little off topic here but what is better for ball flight? I was told that warm hazy heat will make the ball travel further but I always thought cooler thinner air was better, in my experience playing softball the ball always traveled further in the cooler weather. We used Red and Blue Dot balls which were like large Baseballs.
Actually dallasactuary has helped merge quantum mechanics with general relativity.
He was actually observed being under his desk during working hours typing to this forum
and being at his desk pretending to be working while his boss walked by his office window all at the same time.
Physicists are working on the math now to explain how he did this and soon will
publish a unified field theory uniting quantum mechanics with general relativity.
In the course of every human endeavor since the dawn of time the risk of human error has always been a factor. Including but not limited to field goals, 4th down attempts, or multiple paragraph ramblings on a sports forum authored by someone who shall remain anonymous.
Awww, Santa didn't bring that butthurt salve you asked for, did he? Maybe you should turn to prayer instead, and pray that you grow a pair so you can stop this incessant crying.
Altitude is mentioned as a distance advantage. Not just as the air is less dense, but the slightly lower gravitational pull as one distances themselves from the earth's core would be a positive length factor as well (emmis.)
It might be only a couple inches, but to Darin, that is everything.
If you were looking for the maximum, I would say that you would need the player with the fastest bat speed, 30-31 ounce bat hitting in Coors field against a pitcher throwing straight fast balls at 105 (or whatever the fastest pitcher is right now).
You could also probably program a pitching machine to throw it at the same speed to the same (batter preferred) spot.
I would love to see what a guy like Miguel Sano could do in this kind of experiment. https://www.mlb.com/video/statcast-sano-s-482-ft-home-run
Trout, Harper and Judge would be good choices too.
This would be more interesting than watching guys hit meatball after meatball into the stands like the new version of the Home Run Derby.