The Vertical Sweet Spot of the Bat

Terry Bahill
Dave Baldwin
Systems and Industrial Engineering
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721-0020
terry@sie.arizona.edu
http://www.sie.arizona.edu/sysengr/slides/sweetness.ppt
© 2004-2005 Bahill

Sweetness is defined as the probability of attaining a base hit. The sweetness of a specific bat/ball collision is found by determining the ball's vertical launch characteristics, the range and hang time or ground time of the batted ball and, finally, the probability of batter success. An example is presented to demonstrate feasibility and how the model might be used.

Reference: Baldwin, D. G. and Bahill, A.T., "A Model of the Bat's Vertical Sweetness Gradient," The Engineering of Sport 5, vol. 2, (Eds.) M. Hubbard, R. D. Mehta and J. M. Pallis, Proceedings of the 5th International Engineering of Sport Conference, September 13-16, 2004, Davis, CA, International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA), Sheffield, England, pp. 305-311,
This lecture is it suitable for engineers and the general public. It requires PowerPoint and a computer projector. This talk takes about a half-hour.