Expert: Brian Flaspohler - 9/9/2003

Question
Hi Brain,
 I have 2 questions.
  (1)I know you have answered this question many time before but I didn't find the answer in the previous asked questions. My quetion is, what constitutes a balk? What are the different things a picture has to do to have a balk called on him?
 (2) And this is a question I have wondered about for some time.
I understand that a 95 mph fastball can be hit further than a ball pitched at 70 mph. (I don't know but this might be in the phycsis department.)
But at what point does this rule stop applying?  What speed would the ball have to be going so that it would stop traveling further when hit on the sweet spot of the bat? And how fast would the ball have to be going before the ball would just fall of the bat in front of the plate when hit on the sweet spot of the bat? And then I suspose after that the bat would be forced backwards or break.
 Thank you for what information you have on this subject.

Dennis

Answer
Dennis,

1) The balk rule is fairly complex.  However, basically as long as the pitcher doesn't fake a throw to first while standing on the rubber or fake a throw home or step to first and throw to home (or vice versa), he is probably OK.  One other thing - if they go to the mouth with their hand while on the mound, it is a balk.  Also delaying the game can be called a balk.  Not stopping while pitching from the stretch is a balk.

2) I can't answer your questions about that.  But, if you are interested in baseball and physics, there is a good book "The Physics of Baseball" by Robert Adair.  It doesn't answer your question, but addresses many other questions about baseball and how physics plays a role.

Hope this helps!

Brian