Corked bats, juiced balls, and humidors: The physics of cheating in baseball

Alan M. Nathan; Lloyd V. Smith; Warren L. Faber; Daniel A. Russell

doi:10.1119/1.3554642

Corked bats, juiced balls, and humidors: The physics of cheating in baseball

Alan M. Nathan, Lloyd V. Smith, Warren L. Faber, Daniel A. Russell

Graduate Program in Acoustics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Three questions of relevance to Major League Baseball are investigated from a physics perspective. Can a baseball be hit farther with a corked bat? Is there evidence that the baseball is more lively today than in earlier years? Can storing baseballs in a temperature- or humidity-controlled environment significantly affect home run production? These questions are subjected to a physics analysis, including an experiment and an interpretation of the data. The answers to the three questions are no, no, and yes, respectively.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	575-580
Number of pages	6
Journal	American Journal of Physics
Volume	79
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3554642
State	Published - Jun 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Physics and Astronomy(all)

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10.1119/1.3554642

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abstract = "Three questions of relevance to Major League Baseball are investigated from a physics perspective. Can a baseball be hit farther with a corked bat? Is there evidence that the baseball is more lively today than in earlier years? Can storing baseballs in a temperature- or humidity-controlled environment significantly affect home run production? These questions are subjected to a physics analysis, including an experiment and an interpretation of the data. The answers to the three questions are no, no, and yes, respectively.",

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Corked bats, juiced balls, and humidors: The physics of cheating in baseball

Abstract

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

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