Reaction Times

[fr96]

I know I've seen it posted before somewhere, but I'm looking for some actual math on the comparison of reaction times between baseball and softball.

I'm pretty sure a 90mph pitch in baseball and 60mph pitch in fastpitch are similar, but I'm looking for how the real math works.

Thanks to anyone that can help.

[blackwidow]

Hope this helps:

http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/62816.html

[PDad]

http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/62816.html

Their math is not accurate for reaction times because they use the full pitching distance from the pitching plate (PP) to the back tip of home plate. As we all know, pitchers release the ball well in front of the PP and batters try to hit the ball before it gets to the back of home plate. In addition, the actual pitching distance for baseball is 60' 6".

For discussion purposes, let's say the reaction distance is 8' shorter than the full pitching distance for both sports. Here are the reaction times with the shorter distances:

Softball @ 60 mph: (40 - 8)/88 = .3636 seconds
Baseball @ 90 mph: (60.5 - 8)/132 = .3977 seconds

.034 seconds may not seem like a big difference, but baseball is almost 10% longer than softball.

[catchingcoach]

Pdad,

Good math, one observation. If you substituite 43' for the softball which will soon be what most high school girls will be throwing the time of 60mph the time is .3977

[PDad]

Good math, one observation. If you substituite 43' for the softball which will soon be what most high school girls will be throwing the time of 60mph the time is .3977

Good catch! Very interesting that 43' come out the same as the baseball example.

[lvtwft]

The above math used 60.5' so if they used 60.6' then reaction time for softball at stated speeds above will a fraction quicker then baseball....?
If you want get into a little more depth, you would take stride length into account also.
Would like to see the difference in stride length between baseball and softball and what the reaction times would be with the generic 60/90 mph pitches.

[Gone in 2.6]

While the reaction times may be similar, it is far more difficult to hit a 90 MPH ball pitched 60' 6"
because of the closing speed and how short a time the ball is in the hitting zone.

For example, you could soft toss a wiffle ball from one foot away and probably get a similar reaction time but a 7 year old could still hit it. On the other end, a cannon ball fired from whatever distance that would bring the reaction time to .3977 (borrowed analogy) would be impossible to track or hit.

[dittoz]

2.6:
That's a good point, but don't forget that speeds are not usually quoted as the velocity at which the ball crosses the plate. There is a pretty significant fall-off by the time it gets there. In the most simple of terms, radar guns take a sampling of the speed across a given space and then provides an average.

I'm sure our resident super-genius from Anderson can chime in further, but I'm guessing the increased surface area of a 12" softball probably causes it to slow proportionally faster than a 9" baseball would. However, as I think about it further, from 43' (or whatever the release point actually is) I suspect the speed drop-off isn't as great as a baseball thrown from the 60' 6" mound.

So what does this mean...? Hell, I don't remember what the question was now...

[Chin Music]

WE use that drill at practice. I fire a cannonballs from 40ft away at my hitters to work their reaction times. Parents have been complaining about damaged bats and my catchers think this drill just plain SUCKS! It does break in a new catcher's glove.

[ssarge]

I think Gone in 2.xx is right - the pitch closing speed makes the challenge of making solid contact easier in softball. While Dittoz is right and it is true that the speed falls off as the ball nears the plate, it seems to me that it is universal. In other words, the baseball does too, and since the baseball starts 50% faster (90 vs. 60), I'll bet it is still around 50% faster near the contact zone. A softball DOESN'T maintain aerodynamics as well - at least I don't think it does - but I'll bet the delta in deceleration between baseball and softball doesn't decrease much in the relative distances. But I'm guessing. I am certain it won't eliminate a 30mph gap.


Reaction time is very different. THAT is similar at the elite levels of both environments. The formula is pretty straight forward - I didn't even look at the linked site, but would bet it is accurate.

However, what virtually all comparisons do wrong (IMO, anyway) is assume the distance from the rubber to the plate to make the comparison (front of rubber to back of plate, actually). So, 40 or 43 feet in FP, 60' 6" in baseball. An accurate measurement would actually compare release points. Probably something like 55' in baseball, and maybe 36' in elite FP (assuming a 43' rubber).

Those numbers will change the math slightly. And it will vary by pitcher. But if you want a really accurate comparison, it should be taken into account.

As a pragmatic matter, however, the reaction time in either environment is generally in the 0.40 seconds to 0.45 seconds range.

Regards,

Scott