Why pitcher cant hit

When one nerve cell signals another, it does so by releasing a chemical substance which crosses a tiny gap between the cells, called the synapse. It takes about half a thousandth of a second for the chemical transmitter to flow across the gap, a period called synaptic delay.

The longest delays probably involve the nerve cells that make the decision to swing. These decision-making cells receive their input from the eye by way of the brain's visual cortex. It takes at least 43 thousandths of a second for information about the velocity and trajectory of the baseball to be sent from the retina to the higher visual cortex. What happens during the actual "decision" is a neurological mystery — but once the decision is made, a signal is sent to the cerebellum initiating a series of pre-programmed, reflex-like actions for a practiced batter.

Batters, like pitchers, transfer body momentum into bat speed by sequential summation of movement: hips and legs turn first, then torso, shoulders, arms, and finally wrists, creating a powerful whip action. The last fraction of the ball's flight across the plate is consumed by commands to the bat-swinging muscles. Amazingly, even after the batter has started his swing, he still has some ability to reverse his decision and check his swing.

Moving a single group of muscles may require the interaction of numerous nerve cells and involve multiple synaptic delays, as the body receives sensory information sees the ball , processes it makes a decision , and coordinates muscle action swings the bat. Practice eliminates wasted time by speeding up the decision-making -- somehow the obvious mistakes and fruitless actions a novice spends time thinking about are simply ignored by the practiced player, and his brain saves the time needed to consider them.

But basic reaction time due to nerve conduction and synaptic delay remains an irreducible constant of the game. Other factors that affect the batter's swing are the effective length and weight of the bat. The farther up the handle the hitter holds the bat, the less time it takes to swing at the ball, for the simple reason that there is less mass to move through space, and therefore less inertia to overcome with sheer muscle power.

But consequently, less mass hits the ball. Power is the trade-off for speed and precision, hence the maxim that the more powerful the swing, the less likely the hit. Charlie Metro: "Singles hitters hit for average; power hitters hit home runs. One is accuracy with a hatchet, and the other is power with an axe. One is a powerful thing and the other is delicate. The age of a player affects batting success. Up to about age 35 or so, the batter is likely to keep hitting better, which suggests that good hitting requires experience with many different pitches and styles of pitching.

Apparently, a hitter's judgment improves with age; finally, of course, he begins to slow down physiologically. If the batter doesn't hit the ball just right, he's in trouble. An amazing series of reactions propels a shortstop or third baseman into the path of a hard-hit ball. In two steps or less, he may have already caught the ball and fired it to first base for an out, with a swiftness and assurance acquired only through years of practice.

Inherited skill alone just won't do the job. Watch a beginning little league team sometime — often a fielder will wait until after the ball has quit rolling before going after it, or will run to the wrong spot to make a catch.

Catchers and hitters need an instantaneous ability to predict ball trajectories. The human ability to estimate trajectories of moving objects is difficult to explain. Good fielders begin their movement just as the ball is hit, without wasting even half a step. An outfielder instantly begins running toward the spot where he thinks the ball will fall. Sometimes, he will make a running catch without losing a stride, thrusting his glove into position at the last second. Charlie Metro: "The great catches are made at the start, not at the end.

The end is the net result of the start. If you pivot [correctly], you've made one step and you're three or five feet, whatever, toward the ball. There were fewer players who hit for both average and power than in previous decades, but the eighties was about team play, and the hitters that stood out during this period were exceptional baseball players. In a world of fastballs, the wobbly knuckleball is an oddity.

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This article will count down Major League Baseball's 10 best strikeout pitchers of the s. Virgil Trucks became only the third pitcher in the history of baseball to throw two no-hitters in one season after holding the Washington Senators and New York Yankees hitless during the season. The two outings, however, each had a handful of oddities, leaving each even more memorable. The Atlanta Braves are associated with some of the best home run hitters in baseball history, so it's not surprising that the list of the top five home run hitters in franchise history features some recognizable names—but possibly some you might not expect.

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Here's a guide to just how big a baseball field is, and why there are so many ballparks shaped so differently. Team Sports. American Football. Individual Sports. Competitive Cycling. Martial Arts. Competitive Swimming. Pro Wrestling. Fantasy Sports. The Olympics. Animal Sports. Welcome to HowTheyPlay! Related Articles. From the moment Abner Doubleday set the bases 90 feet apart, baseball players have been policing themselves with the fastball. The retaliation is usually nothing more than a fastball placed squarely between the numbers of a player of comparable skill on the opposing team.

Players often go to extremes in this regard, sitting as far from the pitcher as possible and refusing to talk to him between innings. When it comes to the players, this unwritten rule is truly unbreakable. Enjoy our content? Join our newsletter to get the latest in sports news delivered straight to your inbox!