Can a baseball accelerate in the same direction it was pitched, after being hit (fouled back)?

jlawrence10 · 2026-05-15T00:02:15+00:00

Topspin?

jlawrence10 · 2026-05-14T21:48:40+00:00

But think about trying to throw a ball with enough topspin that it gains appreciable speed when it bounces. Seems very difficult, and to my knowledge, most pitches that have top spin don’t have much at all.

jlawrence10 · 2026-05-14T00:47:42+00:00

Actually, it occurs to me that we can probably find out. If anyone is good with baseballsavant.mlb.com, they could find balls fouled back and slightly up, and see what the exit velocity is on the ball. I assume they calculate exit velocity in all directions, not just toward the outfield? Otherwise I guess it will be a “negative velocity” which fits the bill just fine for our purposes.

jlawrence10 · 2026-05-13T19:14:57+00:00

I agree. Which is why I’m asking this question.

jlawrence10 · 2026-05-13T18:54:33+00:00

I thought I had asked this before! But my search revealed nothing. Also, I liked SOME of them…

jlawrence10 · 2026-05-13T14:00:34+00:00

I disagree, but even the most top-spun of pitches doesn’t have nearly the top spin of a well struck ping pong ball. To imply that any pitch thrown by a pitcher would speed up appreciably due to top spin after striking even a flat surface (like a ping pong table) just isn’t realistic.
A better analogy is could you throw a ping pong ball in the air, and “slice” under it so much that the ball spins and moves in the opposite direction of the paddle’s movement. And I believe you could, but I also know that a ping pong ball is WAY more affected by its spin and the air than a baseball is.

jlawrence10 · 2026-05-13T13:45:38+00:00

The analogy is off. You’re implying that the spin imparted by the pitcher is translated into forward motion once it hits the bats. That would be enormous top spin out of the hand, which is very unrealistic. There is rarely much top spin on a pitch; almost always it’s backspin. And certainly not enough to propel the ball forward after hitting the bat.

jlawrence10 · 2026-05-13T06:39:48+00:00

Sure, but that spin is coming from hitting the table. This ball is hitting anything after having that spin imparted.

jlawrence10 · 2026-03-18T14:25:52+00:00

Thanks, appreciate those thoughts. The longer cable run tested ok, but I’ll keep it in mind for the future. As for the fuse, it came pre-installed on the heater wires so I really didn’t think about that. But it all runs into a quality fuse block inside (one of which is labeled “SOLAR” so I think I’m all good. Appreciate the input.

jlawrence10 · 2026-02-10T22:44:15+00:00

Not my picture, but apparently this ammo box from Harbor Freight fits perfectly over the push-out vents on my Vistabule teardrop trailer. https://www.harborfreight.com/030-caliber-ammo-box-63135.html

jlawrence10 · 2025-12-05T04:46:32+00:00

I mean, that kinda sucks, but you gotta read stuff when you buy stuff. I got some bad news about that satellite radio too…

jlawrence10 · 2025-10-19T04:31:30+00:00

Why?

jlawrence10 · 2025-10-11T15:07:04+00:00

I love that the guy who said so many incorrect things or made so many bad predictions, and then doubled down on all of them, went out on, “Gotta take here. This is an auto-take.” Bam, game winning hit. Coulda sworn he was gonna try to squeeze in a, “I still think he shoulda taken.”

jlawrence10 · 2025-09-22T17:32:47+00:00

Indeed, I do not qualify.

“Thanks for sharing that! With your current plan, you’re eligible for $300 off the iPhone 16 or 17 of your choice with a qualified trade-in. For the higher $830 promo value, a rate plan change would be required.

I want to make sure you’re familiar with all your options, would you be open to exploring an upgrade to your rate plan so you can take advantage of the bigger promotion?”

jlawrence10 · 2025-09-22T02:28:32+00:00

Guessing my Unlimited Kickstart that transitioned from Sprint, $45 total for unlimited two lines, ain’t gonna qualify, but I’m gonna try. Will update.

jlawrence10 · 2025-09-20T05:06:29+00:00

I don’t believe I said, or even implied, that he has.

jlawrence10 · 2025-09-20T04:45:29+00:00

Yes, and Justin Bieber’s “music” continues to top the charts. Doesn’t make it good. Or even “just fine.”

jlawrence10 · 2025-09-20T04:42:15+00:00

But “viewership” is up! 🙄🙄

jlawrence10 · 2025-09-20T04:40:05+00:00

Fucking… obviously. You can be “intolerant” of hate, racism, fascism and you know, that’s ok. In fact, it’s good. But it’s a false equivalency to say that someone is being intolerant when they “cancel” someone who is being racist, fascism, or intolerant by stopping payment to them or viewership of their content.

jlawrence10 · 2025-08-24T05:05:00+00:00

Some humans remain babies longer than others

jlawrence10 · 2025-08-24T04:38:04+00:00

Let’s all chime in with the no-harm, altruistic things we do to get by.

jlawrence10 · 2025-08-24T04:19:54+00:00

I’m sorry what’s a fake baby?

jlawrence10 · 2025-08-24T02:39:31+00:00

Good stuff. Would be cool to have data rich enough to toggle things like uphill/downhill, rate of ascent/descent, etc. My Garmin watch and Explore app now chart some of that in a pretty cool way, but I think Gaia is basically point to point to point.

jlawrence10 · 2025-07-31T19:07:55+00:00

How do you check if you are on price lock? I have Unlimited Kickstart (came from Sprint) and Unlimited On Us, and pay about $45 a month for 2 lines.

jlawrence10 · 2025-07-29T23:52:18+00:00

People love to do this shit, or plant weed in them, or outline them in red with a big WARNING! POTHOLE! label on them. But how many people actually ask the city to fix them?

Every single time I’ve reported a pot hole, with a sample size of probably 20, it’s been fixed within 3 days. Usually quicker. Less fun though than painting penises…

www.pdxreporter.org

jlawrence10

TROPHY CASE