pitcher's speed related to hitting power

[capt_taco]

I've wondered this for a long time, and never found any proof one way or the other. But tonight, when I was Detroit, and Tom Brookens cracked a Clemens fastball well over the lights in left-center, it made me ask:

Does anyone know if, when you connect with a pitch, whether the speed of the pitch has anything to do with how far you'll hit it? In real life, physics would tell you that, with the same swing, there's more force involved when you hit a 100 mph pitch than a 60 mph one.

So... what the hell? I know very little about the internal workings of the game engine itself, but I try to notice the little quirks if I find them.  This theory could very well be full of shit. But maybe someone knows.

[Shooty]

All I know is that when you're playing the computer and can wear down the starting pitcher (Witt or Alexander seem to be 2 that tire quickly), you can launch some pretty mammoth shots off a 40-50 MPH pitch.  

Based on this anecdotal, I would say that the speed of the picth doesn't matter.

[Dryden]

I think there's a decent explanation for this, based on Nightwulf's explanation of how contact works...

The slower a pitch is moving, the more it has an opportunity to veer left or right in a given amount of "up-down" space.  Pitches curve more, generally, the slower they're moving - this is why it's so much easier to hit batters in the later innings.

Since contact subtracts from power the further off-center you hit the ball, it would stand to reason that even for a seemingly well-lined up hit, the ball may move a bit to the left or right, causing contact to come into play.  You can definitely drill slow pitches, but the swing may need to be a bit more precise left-right.

Hope this makes any sense.

[Shooty]

Dryden...I thought about Nightwulf's contact info too, but your theory relates to curve pitch.  However, the fact that the pitch is so much slower, its alot easier to hit the ball on the sweet spot of the bat, which is why you see so many more homers off a tired pitcher.


I think the slower the pitch, the more your timing is "on" and better the chance of hitting the ball in the optimal contact zone.  

Capt-taco seems to be looking to see if one of Newton's Laws of Pyshics holds true (the equal and opposite reaction one).  In the RBI world, it doesn't appear to as you can seemingly knock the living tar out of a 25 MPH pitch as well you you could a 100 MPH pitch