*Babe Ruth Thread*

[Ubiquitous]

Beside that not being Ruth at the plate, the proven longest and hardest hitter in history...that batter was swinging down on the ball. You can see the ball curve from left to right (from the hitters perspective). Zero backspin or lift. It wouldn't have made it past the infield if left unimpeded. It was a true single-style liner.

The reason we haven't seen someone take a Ruthian swing to the ball, have it buzz the pitcher, and carry on is because it isn't possible. That's my point. I'm trying to tell you that you can't do what Ruth did and do what was described in the articles. Something has to be off. The most likely thing to be off is the location of the ball as it went by the pitcher since the reporters only get to see it once and from a vantage point that doesn't really allow for good depth perception.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

The reason we haven't seen someone take a Ruthian swing to the ball, have it buzz the pitcher, and carry on is because it isn't possible. That's my point. I'm trying to tell you that you can't do what Ruth did and do what was described in the articles. Something has to be off. The most likely thing to be off is the location of the ball as it went by the pitcher since the reporters only get to see it once and from a vantage point that doesn't really allow for good depth perception.

The first reason is that there isn't another Ruth.

Aside from that...

Read my last couple of posts. "Buzzing" the pitcher is much different than "DRILLING THE PITCHER."

I'm not saying the ball went directly by Metivier's ear. I think it was close enough that it gave everyone watching an instant scare though, and that tells us something. Like I said...even if we don't care how far over the pitcher's head it went, only that it was close enough to assume a single at first glance and still traveled that far is incredible.

[Ubiquitous]

Hitting a ball 460 feet is incredible enough that we don't need exaggerations.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Yes, multiple eye witness accounts exaggerated. They very well could have but it still tells us it was within' scary range of Metivier's head.

[Ubiquitous]

Any ball coming anywhere near you is within scary range. I posted a video earlier of a pitcher flinching when a batted ball went over his head and the ball wasn't even close to his head. The ball that Ruth hit in all probability went over the pitcher's head somewhere between 15 to 25 feet.

[stuarthouse]

Reasonable. The "flinch" was probably caused by the direction of the ball, i.e. in a direct line with the pitcher. The pitcher had every right to be fearful! If the ball was hit at a lower trajectory it could have proven fatal. However, in that split second there was no way for the pitcher to know what the elevation would be as it approached him. The survival response is instinctual as there is no time for rational thought.

Any ball coming anywhere near you is within scary range. I posted a video earlier of a pitcher flinching when a batted ball went over his head and the ball wasn't even close to his head. The ball that Ruth hit in all probability went over the pitcher's head somewhere between 15 to 25 feet.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Any ball coming anywhere near you is within scary range. I posted a video earlier of a pitcher flinching when a batted ball went over his head and the ball wasn't even close to his head. The ball that Ruth hit in all probability went over the pitcher's head somewhere between 15 to 25 feet.

What if it was hit five feet over the pitchers head when the pitcher was at 52 feet. Would it be 15 feet by the time it reached the 60 foot mark? 10 feet of vertical rise in eight feet of horizontal flight. Is that possible if the guy hitting is using a much heavier bat than we see today, but still able to swing at the same speed?

[Ubiquitous]

Why would the pitcher be over 8 feet away from the rubber? And if he somehow is how is he standing upright?

Anyway, to get a ball to pass by the the 52 mark at roughly 11 feet off the air and travel 470 feet Babe needs to swing so hard that we should see a lot more 550 foot homers from him under more normal angled swings from him. As I said before, I'm not talking one or two blasts over 500 feet but in all probability hundreds of them.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Why would the pitcher be over 8 feet away from the rubber? And if he somehow is how is he standing upright?

Anyway, to get a ball to pass by the the 52 mark at roughly 11 feet off the air and travel 470 feet Babe needs to swing so hard that we should see a lot more 550 foot homers from him under more normal angled swings from him. As I said before, I'm not talking one or two blasts over 500 feet but in all probability hundreds of them.

In case you weren't aware, the pitcher doesn't stand straight up and throw the ball stiff. He has stretched out and hurled the ball, and even followed through with his right leg in this case. I'm an inch shorter that Metivier, and just simulated a windup and release, and at the point where the ball would be passing over my head, I measured 7.5 feet from the "rubber." So yeah, it's not a reach.

You never answered the question. Perhaps because you can't enter into your equation, the bat mass and velocity it's being swung at. That's ok.

[Ubiquitous]

I did answer the question. The exit speed doesn't need to know how heavy the bat is or how fast the swing is or how fast the pitch is. This is the second time someone has had to tell you this in this very thread.


Also, go to Hit Tracker and take a look at the video clips. Pitchers don't land 8 feet away from the rubber and if they do somehow get out there they certainly aren't standing upright.

[drstrangelove]

You never answered the question. Perhaps because you can't enter into your equation, the bat mass and velocity it's being swung at. That's ok.

You posted this question or statement before.

Once you know the velocity of the ball, it's angle, types and amounts of spin of the ball, characteristics of the ball itself, wind speed and wind vectors, air density and humidity, you have all the information you need to calculate distance.


Bat mass, bat composition and bat speed are not needed since that is already included in the velocity of the ball.

[leagueleader]

As I said the blast is not humanly possible. Babe would need to hit the ball so hard that it travels at speeds faster than 200 mph for it to travel past the pitchers head and then rise.

Baseballs and frisbees are not really directly comparable other than to say they are both ruled by physics.

Sounds like the one Satchel Paige liked to tell about Cool Papa Bell. 'He's so fast that he can turn off the light switch and be in bed before the room gets dark!'

[four tool]

Sounds like the one Satchel Paige liked to tell about Cool Papa Bell. 'He's so fast that he can turn off the light switch and be in bed before the room gets dark!'

True story because there was a short in the circuit, so by the time the light went off, Papa was already in bed. At least that's what I read in a Satch bio, IIRC.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Ruth's offensive numbers during his 15 starts in 1919

05/03/19 - 1-3, double, BB, K
05/20/19 - 1-4, HR, BB, K
05/26/19 - 0-3, BB
05/30/19 - 3-5, double, 2 singles, K
06/05/19 - 1-1, single
06/10/19 - 1-3, double, BB, K
06/14/19 - 2-6, 2 singles
06/20/19 - 1-3, triple, BB
06/25/19 - 0-4
07/17/19 - 1-4, single
07/21/19 - 1-4, HR, BB
07/25/19 - 0-3, BB
08/17/19 - 0-4
09/01/19 - 1-3, triple, BB
09/20/19 - 1-3, HR, BB, K
------------------------------------------
.264/.371/.566

His overall slash was .322/.456/.657

His road slash was .319/.442/.694

His road slash when not starting on the mound was .327/.453/.712

[drstrangelove]

Going to re do this and see.

Ok re-did and found the same discrepancy again.