[HN Gopher] Study investigates how mass distribution of baseball...
___________________________________________________________________
Study investigates how mass distribution of baseball bat affects
performance
https://baseball.physics.illinois.edu/ISEA2026-Torpedo-v7.pd...
Author : Magi604
Score : 22 points
Date : 2026-04-03 02:49 UTC (5 days ago)
(HTM) web link (news.wsu.edu)
(TXT) w3m dump (news.wsu.edu)
| restlessforge wrote:
| So... The Torpedo Bat is basically the Placebo Bat?
| bryanlarsen wrote:
| The end of the article notes several very real changes in
| behavior, including being more likely to get a hit, which is
| significant.
|
| And it compares equal weight bats. If the torpedo bat allows
| you to use a lighter bat, that will increase your swing speed.
| postflopclarity wrote:
| they compared equal _swing_ weight bats. so actually in their
| experiment the torpedo bat was heavier.
| kaonwarb wrote:
| Disappointing article. As another commenter mentioned, the very
| last sentence of the article reveals a potentially positive
| impact on batting average, which is extremely relevant to how
| well a bat works! But this seems to be ignored by the conclusion
| of both the researchers and the article, which focuses on hitting
| power.
| sam1r wrote:
| This is just the most oxymoronic article. It's like it knew we
| would all be like... wait.
| devindotcom wrote:
| the last sentence is part of a paragraph specifying it "might"
| be better for "some players who like to hit the ball closer in"
|
| not really ignored when it's in the article. the researchers
| themselves are quoted saying the results are incredibly close.
| Mathnerd314 wrote:
| Yeah, it's like just ignoring the actual conclusions. I mean,
| it's easier to hit and then it hits less hard, which is actually
| good because professional baseball players generally hit it out
| of the park when they get a good hit. So the conclusion is
| actually completely opposite what the title of the article is -
| it's not the same. It is a substantial improvement.
| bombcar wrote:
| The moment I saw "slight difference in location of sweet spot"
| I knew the bat would have tremendous real-world impact even if
| the robots couldn't hit any better.
| sam1r wrote:
| Modern 2026 click bait:
|
| 1. Provide "distinct" proof 2. Title it as the antithesis
| devindotcom wrote:
| i'm sorry but where are you seeing this completely opposite and
| substantial improvement?
|
| >The team found nearly identical performance for the torpedo
| and standard bats except that the sweet spot for the torpedo
| bat was a half inch farther from the bat tip than the standard
| bat.
|
| >"It was actually pretty phenomenal how close they were," said
| Smith.
|
| >For some players who like to hit the ball closer in, the
| torpedo bat might be a better option for them
|
| some players with some batting characteristics may find this
| better? is that what you are referring to? What part of the
| article disputes this at all, let alone concludes the opposite?
| Is it the researcher's own quote? I really don't understand
| your objection here. It seems to be based on your own intuition
| about how players "generally" hit balls. But the researchers
| themselves have presented their own data and conclusions pretty
| clearly here.
| nsxwolf wrote:
| Very ugly bat. Poor aesthetics for baseball.
| jeffbee wrote:
| Imagine writing a whole article like this and only including one
| really unclear photo with a distracting background and not
| indicating which bat is which in the photo.
| orthecreedence wrote:
| > "Wood is wood," said Smith
|
| Ahh, finally. A definitive answer!
| wnevets wrote:
| I forgot all about the torpedo bat "craze", It was largely a dead
| story by the all star break.
| talkfold wrote:
| Scientists spent money confirming that wood is wood.
| lawrenceduk wrote:
| Clicked on the story expecting underwater bat-like weapon system.
| Was incredibly disappointed.
| excalibur wrote:
| > For some players who like to hit the ball closer in, the
| torpedo bat might be a better option for them, though, he added.
| And because the barrel is wider in a place where those batters do
| hit, they will be more likely to hit the ball more often --
| giving players a higher batting average.
|
| If the only constraints are material and weight, it should be
| possible to create a design that performs even better for this
| purpose. But at some point it stops looking like a baseball bat.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2026-04-08 23:01 UTC)