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After typing "curve ball" in the Yahoo! search bar, we came up with a couple of great sites devoted to the physics of baseball. At Science of Baseball, we learned that the best way to practice pitches is with a baseball-sized Styrofoam ball. This makes the curve balls curvier, the screwballs screwier, and the sliders really slide. Here's how to throw a curveball, according to the Science of Baseball: 'Choke' the ball (wedge it down between your thumb and forefinger), and cock your wrist to the left; the ball snaps down and to the right on release. The resulting pitch should drop
and curve to the left. The site also provides a handy diagram. While the diagram is helpful, we'd like to note that it's obviously better to have a pitcher acquaintance show you how to throw a curve ball. Why do curveballs curve? According to Baseball: The Game and Beyond, placing a spin on a ball when it's released will affect the air friction, or drag, on the ball. Parts of the ball will experience more drag than others, and the ball will curve in the direction of the least resistance (a kind of Zen approach to baseball). For a more detailed explanation, check
out this column. Trivia nugget: the 108 stitches in a major league baseball are a key part of the curve ball. They "contribute to the imbalance of the drag," and cause the direction of the ball to vary by as much as seventeen inches.
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