Baseball: How It Works(Science of Sports (Sports Illustrated for Kids))

A 95 mph fastball zooms toward home plate. A batter smacks it into the centerfield bleachers a home run! Explore all the exciting plays in a baseball game from throwing a curveball to stealing a base.

Review :
Most youngsters would never imagine that a baseball player who has mastered the science of his sport is actually at an advantage. This book discusses the physics of the sport, minus the formulas of course. Take for example, sliding into a base. Is it faster to slide in headfirst or feetfirst? That's a relatively easy question to answer. Dr. David Peters took a close look at sliding and studied the difference between the two slides and found that the headfirst slide will get you where you are going a tad faster than the feetfirst slide. Of course if you look at in a scientific manner, rather than attempting to figure it out by trial and error, you'll be taking a look at the center of gravity. This fascinating book takes a look at all aspects of the sport from the way the ball is pitched to the composition of the ball itself. The baseball once was made of rubber and hand-wound yarn. Now each ball has very specific qualifications, including lacing with exactly 108 stitches, and must pass very stringent testing. In this book you'll learn the physics not only behind the equipment, but also the pitch, the momentum of the hit, the science of the bunt, you'll learn why it is better not to run in a straight line when stealing a base, why torque is needed in the pitchers' bodies, and you'll learn many other interesting facets of the science of baseball. This is an amazing look at the science behind the game of baseball. More specifically this book looks at the physics of many aspects of baseball. Physics sounds a bit daunting, but this book makes it seems relatively simple and, without a doubt, quite fascinating. Terms such as center of gravity, inertia, momentum, torque, and velocity are easily incorporated into the text. I enjoyed reading the book and could see that learning about certain bits of science could actually improve a young person's game. In the back of the book is an index, a glossary, and additional book and Internet sites to explore (this is a FactHound book). Is a crow hop worth the extra effort when attempting a long throw? You'll just have to read the book to find out!-- "Amazon.com Review" The physics behind baseball is the focus of this title in the Sports Illustrated: The Science of Sports series. A "Balls and Bats" section includes explanations of velocity and inertia, for instance, while an "Offense" section links discussions of gravity with base-stealing techniques. A chapter on "Defense" uses pitching examples to discuss concepts such as torque and topspin, while many other topics, including equipment, injury risks, and the grass-versus-turf debate, are also creatively explored. The well-designed layout, featuring glossy color visuals, including action photos, diagrams, and sidebars, is visually stimulating, and the concepts are further reinforced in brief definitions that appear at the bottom of many pages and in an appended glossary. Students may need more explanation than what is offered here to grasp some of the more challenging math and physics, but the clever approach will help draw interest and build understanding. Reading suggestions and an index close this natural choice for curricular use.-- "Booklist"