Physics of a Curve

The Physics of a Curve

By: Brennen Hodge

February 8, 2008

“Strike three!”, yelled the umpire. The kid didn’t even come close to touching the it. This is the gratification you receive from throwing a properly thrown curve ball. Ever since I was 12 years old, I am been making batters duck out of the way, swing at balls in the dirt, and essentially look like a total idiot at times. That is a curve ball for you. A ball, when thrown properly, looks like a fastball coming right at your head then all of a sudden the bottom falls out of it and comes right across the plate. It is probably the hardest pitch to hit in baseball and likewise the hardest pitch to master. Added to your repertoire of pitches, a curve can make you a dominate pitcher.

The definition of a curveball is a slow or moderately fast baseball pitch thrown with spin to make it swerve downward and usually to the left when thrown from the right hand or to the right when thrown from the left hand. The curve has been around just about as long as baseball. The man who developed it is a legend. A cursory glance at the lifetime statistics of one William Arthur "Candy" Cummings would leave one to wonder how in the world this man made the Hall of Fame. He lost more games than he won in the big leagues. He pitched in only 43 games, fewer than some pitchers appear in during one SEASON. But it isn't Cummings' record that earned him a coveted spot in Cooperstown. Cummings' contribution to the game was invention. In the 19th century, Cummings is credited with creating the curveball.

Most pitchers in the early days of baseball threw as hard as they could without realizing the way they gripped the ball or turned their wrist could alter it's flight toward home plate. Cummings was a semipro pitcher who came up with the idea while throwing clamshells in his native Massachusetts. He took the concept to baseball where he was often scorned for attempting such "folly". But when he proved it could be done, he was known...