Why when you play baseball is it easier to hit a home run off a fast ball than o…

Why when you play baseball is it easier to hit a home run off a fast ball than off a slow ball?

The speed of the ball’s rebound from the stationary bat (let’s adopt the bat’s inertial frame of reference for the moment) depends on the speed at which the ball and bat approach one another. The faster the ball approaches the bat, the higher the ball’s rebound speed will be. Since a fastball approaches the bat faster than a slow ball, the fastball also leaves the bat at a higher speed and is more likely to fly out of the outfield for a home run. You can even consider the case in which the batter tries to bunt and holds the bat stationary. A fastball will approach the bat faster and will bounce back faster than a slow ball will. If the pitch is fast enough, the rebounding ball could conceivably fly past the outfield for a home run, too.

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