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Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts
How Baseball Players Catch Fly Balls
I thought that this was pretty cool. Somewhere my high school algebra teacher is smiling, more proof of math in the real world.
"Years ago, physicist Seville Chapman proposed a model to explain how players manage the path of a fly ball so that they arrive to intercept it at just the right time. His theory, called Optical Acceleration Cancellation (OAC), used the acceleration of the ball through the vision field as a guide for player movement.
As a fielder watches the ball rise, he moves either forward or backwards so that the ball moves at a constant speed through his field of vision. If he moves too far forward, the ball will rise faster and may eventually fly over his head. If he takes too many steps back, the ball will appear to rise slower and will drop in front of him.
By managing the ball's position with his movement, a fielder will end up at the right spot at the right time. This explains why the stationary fielders could not predict where the ball would land, as they did not have the benefit of OAC.If we ask real fielders how they knew where to run to catch a ball, they may not respond with, "Well, I simply adjusted my relative field position to keep the tangent of the vertical optical angle to the ball increasing at a constant rate." So, to test the OAC geometric equations against real life, researchers led by Dinant Kistemaker of the University of Western Ontario, compared the predicted running paths from their mathematical simulation with the real running paths of fielders observed in a previous study.
"We have found that running paths are largely consistent with those observed experimentally," Kistemaker told LiveScience. "Largely, and not completely, because the start of fielders is somewhat strange: They tend to step forward first, irrespective of the fact that they have run either forward or backwards to catch that fly ball."
The research is detailed this month in the journal Human Movement Science."
2008 MLB All-Star Game
Just finished watching the hated A.L. defeat the N.L. again. 15 innings later and it is over. Feh. Of course I could have live blogged the game but didn't feel like it.
The big kid hung out for a large portion of it, but eventually sleep called and he answered. Carried him to bed and marveled at how tall he has gotten. I'll blink and he'll be my size.
I remember being his age like it was yesterday. Girls were at best to be tolerated, I never did believe that I'd ever be interested in them. Ok, so I was really wrong about that. But I was absolutely correct about Reggie Jackson in the '78 series. He should have been out.
And now it is time to post about other things.
The big kid hung out for a large portion of it, but eventually sleep called and he answered. Carried him to bed and marveled at how tall he has gotten. I'll blink and he'll be my size.
I remember being his age like it was yesterday. Girls were at best to be tolerated, I never did believe that I'd ever be interested in them. Ok, so I was really wrong about that. But I was absolutely correct about Reggie Jackson in the '78 series. He should have been out.
And now it is time to post about other things.
Baseball- The WSJ Balks
The Journal has a story called The Decline of the National League that really misses the mark. The writer makes the case that the National League is inferior to the American League and cites a number of stats that support that.
What bothers me about this piece is that it really falls flat. The writer spends a good amount of time explaining why he believes his assertion to be true and then finishes off with an acknowledgment that the game is cyclical.
Coincidentally I had a similar conversation with a rabid Sox fan who tried to convince me that the A.L. was so far superior that the N.L. should just give up. I suppose that this is one time where age serves me well. At 39 I remember well the dominance of the N.L.
Anyway, I'll share a few pieces of the article with you.
Whoops.
What bothers me about this piece is that it really falls flat. The writer spends a good amount of time explaining why he believes his assertion to be true and then finishes off with an acknowledgment that the game is cyclical.
Coincidentally I had a similar conversation with a rabid Sox fan who tried to convince me that the A.L. was so far superior that the N.L. should just give up. I suppose that this is one time where age serves me well. At 39 I remember well the dominance of the N.L.
Anyway, I'll share a few pieces of the article with you.
I'll spare you my comments about how why I dislike the D.H. and instead share one more excerpt from the article."They play the same game. They pick from the same pool of players. For some reason, though, they don't get the same results.
By just about every measure, the 16 teams in Major League Baseball's National League are inferior to the 14 in the American League. The AL has won 11 of the last 16 World Series, including three of the last four. The annual All-Star Game, to be played Tuesday, has practically become a farce: Not counting a 2002 tie, the AL has won 10 straight.
Since baseball began interleague play in 1997 -- where teams from the two leagues play a handful of regular-season games against each other -- the AL is increasingly dominating. This year has been the second-most lopsided ever, with the AL winning 59% as of Thursday afternoon.
The plight of the NL seems rooted in a chain of events that began in 1973 when the AL adopted the designated-hitter rule -- which allows for the pitchers to be replaced in the batting order by a full-time hitter who doesn't play in the field. The disparity was spurred by new ballpark construction; an unprecedented crop of young power hitters who, for various reasons, almost all fell to the AL; a series of disastrous trades and free-agent signings by NL teams; and a tradition of innovation in the AL that began in the mid-1990s with the Oakland A's."
"To be fair, baseball is cyclical. From 1963 to 1982, the NL won 19 of 20 All-Star Games and 12 of 20 World Series titles. John Schuerholz, president of the NL's Atlanta Braves, says there's no "magic dust" that gives the AL greater scouting intelligence. But for now, the record is not pretty. "I admit to that," he says."Like I said, the article doesn't really go anywhere. You start out with this song and dance about the decline of the N.L. and then finish with a comment about how the same thing happened to the A.L.
Whoops.
Satchel Paige Rules For Life
Satchel Paige has always caught my eye. He was a colorful character who I have always thought might be kind of fun to hang out with. Here is some simple advice he offered for how to live.
1 - Avoid fried meats which angry up the blood.
2 - If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts.
3 - Keep your juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move.
4 - Go very gently on the vices such as carrying on in society - the social ramble ain't restful.
5 - Avoid running at all times.
6 - Don't look back, something might be gaining on you.
Barry Bonds
In a past life I had a dream of becoming a sports writer. In part it was due to the influence of Jim Murray. The man could take words and make them sing and dance in such a beautiful way. I am not half the writer he was, not even close to one quarter. But the nice thing about writing is that is one of those skills that can improve with age and with practice.
The same is not necessarily true of hitting a 90 MPH fastball. There comes a point in time in which your skills begin to diminish and you are no longer able to do what you once did. Most baseball players begin to see this change some time in their mid to late thirties. Rarely do you see their skills begin to improve.
Barry Bonds seems to be the exception to the rule.
As a fan of the game I'd like to celebrate this. I'd like to look at Barry with a mix of awe and envy and wish that I could do what he does. The problem is that I cannot.
I cannot because he plays for the hated Giants and as a Dodger fan that is not something you do. Ask a Sox fan if he'd like to get a Bucky Dent jersey and see how he responds and you'll get a sense of what it means. As an aside most Sox fans I know never speak of Dent without using the middle name they gave him, Bucky F*ing Dent.
But it is more than team loyalty that prevents me from trying to appreciate Bonds. By all accounts he is a surly and often obnoxious man that walks around like he has a chip on his shoulder. The persona he portrays to the public is not one of affection.
Still, that is only part of the equation. When I add in another factor it becomes even tougher to really get behind him.
Steroids.
And the truth is that part of me feels badly about that because I don't see it as a black and white issue. Bonds played during a time that can be called the steroid era. It is a given that the explosion in home runs we witnessed is not just due to bigger players, league expansion or other soft ball explanations.
Bonds has never admitted to taking steroids and to the best of my knowledge no one has proven that he has taken them either. In theory one should be innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn't apply everywhere.
And here is what we know. Major League Baseball hasn't embraced him. He is on the verge of breaking one of the greatest records in the game and people don't want to talk about it. Hank Aaron refuses to attend or acknowledge it and until recently the commissioner has refused to discuss whether he would try to be in attendance when Bonds breaks the record.
The lack of support from within the MLB bothers me. I think that it speaks volumes about this. It is just disappointing to see Bonds do this. I had always kind of hoped that Junior would do it.
I suppose that it is still possible that he might, but that seems like a bit of a stretch now.
The one thing I know for certain is that records are made to be broken. Bonds will have his time in the limelight. Regardless of whether he took steroids or not he is one of the great players of the game, I'll grant him that. But sooner or later someone like A-Rod will come along and take the record away.
I just hope that whoever does it has more to show for themselves than Bonds.
The same is not necessarily true of hitting a 90 MPH fastball. There comes a point in time in which your skills begin to diminish and you are no longer able to do what you once did. Most baseball players begin to see this change some time in their mid to late thirties. Rarely do you see their skills begin to improve.
Barry Bonds seems to be the exception to the rule.
As a fan of the game I'd like to celebrate this. I'd like to look at Barry with a mix of awe and envy and wish that I could do what he does. The problem is that I cannot.
I cannot because he plays for the hated Giants and as a Dodger fan that is not something you do. Ask a Sox fan if he'd like to get a Bucky Dent jersey and see how he responds and you'll get a sense of what it means. As an aside most Sox fans I know never speak of Dent without using the middle name they gave him, Bucky F*ing Dent.
But it is more than team loyalty that prevents me from trying to appreciate Bonds. By all accounts he is a surly and often obnoxious man that walks around like he has a chip on his shoulder. The persona he portrays to the public is not one of affection.
Still, that is only part of the equation. When I add in another factor it becomes even tougher to really get behind him.
Steroids.
And the truth is that part of me feels badly about that because I don't see it as a black and white issue. Bonds played during a time that can be called the steroid era. It is a given that the explosion in home runs we witnessed is not just due to bigger players, league expansion or other soft ball explanations.
Bonds has never admitted to taking steroids and to the best of my knowledge no one has proven that he has taken them either. In theory one should be innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn't apply everywhere.
And here is what we know. Major League Baseball hasn't embraced him. He is on the verge of breaking one of the greatest records in the game and people don't want to talk about it. Hank Aaron refuses to attend or acknowledge it and until recently the commissioner has refused to discuss whether he would try to be in attendance when Bonds breaks the record.
The lack of support from within the MLB bothers me. I think that it speaks volumes about this. It is just disappointing to see Bonds do this. I had always kind of hoped that Junior would do it.
I suppose that it is still possible that he might, but that seems like a bit of a stretch now.
The one thing I know for certain is that records are made to be broken. Bonds will have his time in the limelight. Regardless of whether he took steroids or not he is one of the great players of the game, I'll grant him that. But sooner or later someone like A-Rod will come along and take the record away.
I just hope that whoever does it has more to show for themselves than Bonds.
It Gives Me Goosebumps
I love the scene in the video below.
Here is a link to the trailer for the movie. Here is a link to the post that initiated all this. And since we are talking baseball here is a link to a clip from Field of Dreams.
Here is a link to the trailer for the movie. Here is a link to the post that initiated all this. And since we are talking baseball here is a link to a clip from Field of Dreams.
Thank You Jackie Robinson
I have been mulling over how to honor Jackie Robinson because today is the 60 year anniversary of his breaking into the major leagues.I am not old enough to have seen Jackie play but I wish that I could have. It must have been incredible to see him steal home.
However I am old enough to understand the significance of what he did and to appreciate the tremendous courage and strength he possessed.
Philly.com has a series called Remembering Jackie Robinson that I urge you to read.
Here is another link to a series of information about him.
Thank you Jackie.
Vin Scully- The Greatest Baseball Announcer Ever
As a native of Los Angeles I have been privileged to listen to some of the greatest announcers you could ever find, Dick Enberg, Chick Hearn and the great Vin Scully. I could easily dedicate an entire post to each man in which I could laud their skill and their ability to paint a picture with words, but it is Spring Training now and that means baseball.
And if you are talking about baseball you have to think of Vin Scully. Scully is an artist. He is a virtuoso, a true wordsmith and he doesn't suffer from the problems that so many other announcers have. He is able to tell stories without detracting from the game. He knows when to speak and when not to speak.
At a later date I might write a longer post praising Scully but right now I want to go in a different direction and share a memory.
The year is 2001. It is a warm summer evening and my seven month old son is teething. Inside the condo I am doing all that I can to try and ease his pain. I sing, I dance, I give him a teething ring to gnaw on. The singing and dancing are so bad he screams louder. I think that his eyes and ears hurt now too.
I am exhausted. Normally I have help but not this night. Smart man that I am, I have sent his mother out for some girly fun. I figured that it would be fun to hang out and do "man stuff" together. Now I realize that at seven months he can't do all that much, but I figure you are never too young to start learning.
Eventually I turn on the stereo and hope that I can find some music to soothe our nerves. Lo and behold the unit is set to the Dodger's home station and the game is on. To be honest I can't remember who they were playing or what the score was.
What I do remember is that almost as soon as Scully started talking my son stopped crying. He lay there with his head on my shoulder and together we let Vinny take us to Dodger stadium. It was a magic moment and a special memory that I'll always have.
(Here are a couple of links to some Scully clips:
From The Radio Hall of Fame and announcing Koufax's perfect game.)
And if you are talking about baseball you have to think of Vin Scully. Scully is an artist. He is a virtuoso, a true wordsmith and he doesn't suffer from the problems that so many other announcers have. He is able to tell stories without detracting from the game. He knows when to speak and when not to speak.
At a later date I might write a longer post praising Scully but right now I want to go in a different direction and share a memory.
The year is 2001. It is a warm summer evening and my seven month old son is teething. Inside the condo I am doing all that I can to try and ease his pain. I sing, I dance, I give him a teething ring to gnaw on. The singing and dancing are so bad he screams louder. I think that his eyes and ears hurt now too.
I am exhausted. Normally I have help but not this night. Smart man that I am, I have sent his mother out for some girly fun. I figured that it would be fun to hang out and do "man stuff" together. Now I realize that at seven months he can't do all that much, but I figure you are never too young to start learning.
Eventually I turn on the stereo and hope that I can find some music to soothe our nerves. Lo and behold the unit is set to the Dodger's home station and the game is on. To be honest I can't remember who they were playing or what the score was.
What I do remember is that almost as soon as Scully started talking my son stopped crying. He lay there with his head on my shoulder and together we let Vinny take us to Dodger stadium. It was a magic moment and a special memory that I'll always have.
(Here are a couple of links to some Scully clips:
From The Radio Hall of Fame and announcing Koufax's perfect game.)
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