The Science of Baseball

Ash replaced hickory because it was lighter, but it’s not as strong.

In the 1990s, some players began using maple bats. Maple is stronger than ash and not as heavy as hickory. However, maple bats tend to break in long, jagged pieces that can cause injury to players, umpires, and fans. > Download Baseball Card

A player’s “on base percentage” (OBP) tells you how often a player doesn’t get an out when they are at the plate.

Here’s the formula for calculating OBP: (H+BB+HBP)/(AB+BB+HBP+SF) = OBP

Here’s what it means: H=Hits; BB= Bases on Balls (walks); HBP= Hit by Pitch; AB=At Bats SF=Sacrifice Fly

And here is an example for Dustin Pedroia for the 2009 season: (185+74+5)/(626+74+5+6) = .371 Pedroia had a batting average of .296

The best leadoff hitters in baseball have high on-base percentages. Coaches want their first batter to reach base and get into scoring position! > Download Baseball Card

A well-thrown curve-ball can move as much as 17 inches from a straight line from the time is leaves the pitcher’s mound and reaches the batter.

Curveballs do most of their curving in the last 15 feet.

It takes about 1/6 of a second for a curve ball to travel the last 15 feet. It takes a batter about 1/5 of a second to swing a bat.

This means that batters have to begin their swing before the ball shows all of its curve! This makes curveballs extremely hard to hit! > Download Baseball Card

At the center of a baseball is a grape-sized cork called a “pill.”

The pill is surrounded by two rubber covers, one black, and one red. These have too much bounce for a baseball.

To cushion the bounce, this core is wrapped with lots and lots of yarn: 121 yards of 4-ply gray wool yarn, 45 yards of 3-ply white wool, 53 yards of 3-ply gray wool and wrapped around all of that, 150 yards of cotton yarn.

Finally, cowhide leather covers the ball and it’s sewn together with 108 stitches of red cotton. > Download Baseball Card

What makes the biggest difference
in how far a ball travels when it’s
hit — speed of the swing or the
size of the bat?|

Doubling the weight of a 20-ounce wood
bat can raise batted ball speed (BBS) by
17%, but doubling the swing speed of
a 30-ounce bat can raise BBS 35.1%.

If you are hitting a 95 MPH fastball, every
1 MPH increase in bat speed can send the
ball out 8 more feet! > Download Baseball Card

Learn More About Baseball

Baseball The Tenth Inning
This documentary film directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick adds a new chapter to Ken Burns's landmark 1994 series. The website features video, articles, and a section for teachers with lesson plans and activities.

Science of Baseball
Learn more about the physics of baseball at this site from the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

Baseball Math
Practice your math skills with this online math games from Fun Brain.

Baseball Hall of Fame
Learn more about the legends of the game! Be sure to check out the Education section of the site where you will find a collection of 10 thematic units of study.