72th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (November 23, 2019 — November 26, 2019)

V0038: The effect of seam orientation on the flight of a baseball

Authors
  • Andrew Smith, Utah State University
  • Rob Friedman, Pitching Ninja
  • Nazmus Sakib, Utah State University
  • John Garrett, Utah State University
  • Barton Smith, Utah State University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2019.GFM.V0038

The understanding of aerodynamics in baseball has, over the history of the game, been continuously evolving. This video demonstrates some of the complex behavior inherent in baseball flight due to the irregular seam locations on the ball and how additional forces, beyond those due to spin and gravity, can play a major role in determining the baseball's flight path.

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