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Why all the Hype about the Gyroball?

Daisuke Matsuzaka: Does he or doesn’t he?. Why all the Hype about the Gyroball?. Secret of the Demon Pitch by Kazushi Tezuka and Ryutaro Himeno. Tezuka: pitching coach who “invented” the pitch. He also has an instructional DV

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Why all the Hype about the Gyroball?

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  1. Daisuke Matsuzaka: Does he or doesn’t he? Why all the Hype about the Gyroball?

  2. Secret of the Demon Pitch by Kazushi Tezuka and Ryutaro Himeno Tezuka: pitching coach who “invented” the pitch. He also has an instructional DV Himeno: computer scientist who discovered its properties with elaborate simulations

  3. “It's quickly becoming the Bigfoot of baseball, an urban legend born in a Japanese lab and racing across the Internet. They call it the "gyroball"—the exact translation is probably closer to "Demon Sphere Gyro Ball"—and it's either the first new pitch in nearly four decades, or a complete and total sham.”—Popular Mechanics, 11/06

  4. Seattle PI 10/18/06 Are these claims scientifically sound? Does anyone throw it?

  5. The trajectory of a pitched baseball in flight is governed by the gravitational force and the Magnus force on a spinning baseball.Gravity makes the ball drop by 3-4 ft, depending on speedThe Magnus force deflects the ball by an amount that depends on the spin (rpm), the speed, and the orientation of the spin axis. The Science of a Baseball Trajectory

  6. The spin axis is the line connecting the south to north pole (“right-hand rule”) The Science of a Baseball Trajectory spin axis

  7. Magnus force causes ball to break in direction that front edge of the ball is turning The Science of a Baseball Trajectory Example: straight overhand fastball as viewed by batter—upward break opposing gravity deflection spin axis rotation

  8. More examples, as seen by batter deflection spin axis overhand FB: upward break spin axis “12-6” overhand CB: downward break deflection spin axis

  9. More examples, as seen by batter Sidearm curveball by RPH breaks away from RHB 3/4 fastball by RHP breaks up and in to RHB

  10. More examples, as seen by batterNote that spin axis is tilted a bit forward. cut fastball by RHP breaks up and away to RHB slider by RHP breaks down and away to RHB

  11. 90-95 mph 85-90 mph 80-85 mph 75-80 mph Break (excluding gravity) of Matsuzaka’s Pitches (as seen by batter)--thanks to MLB Gameday ¾ FB Cut FB vertical break (inches) SFFB? CB/SLD horizontal break (inches)

  12. Magnus force also depends on angle between spin axis and direction of motion.Largest when angle is close to 90o: Zero when angle is 0o: the gyroball gyroball Angle=0o Force=0 “normal” pitch with sidespin Angle=90o Maximum force side view

  13. Courtesy, Ryutaro Himeno • For pure gyroball, only force is gravity. • no sideways break • drops ~15” more than FB

  14. An aside for physics geeks…. When spin axis of a spherical ball coincides with the direction of motion, there is complete symmetry about that direction. So, the ball has no way of “knowing” which way to break. Therefore, there can be no break.

  15. Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Congress on Sports Technology, Tokyo, 2005 Is this all “theoretical”? Translation: Magnus force = 0 for gyroball …exactly as expected theoretically

  16. from The New York Times: they got it exactly right!

  17. Seattle PI 10/18/06 Pure nonsense!

  18. Some additional thoughts • Gyroball thrown 85-90 mph drops more than fastball • Sort of like a splitter, but even more drop • May look like slider to batter slider gyro Batter sees “red dot” and expects slider red dot identifies slider expects break to right “backup slider”—in former days, a mistake

  19. Clip from Kazushi Tezuka’s Instructional DVD

  20. Variation #1 If spin axis tilted slightly upward, ball breaks a little sideways: “gyroball with side force”. 15o tilt gives ~4” break to side

  21. Variation #2 If spin axis tilted slightly toward 3B, ball breaks a little upward: “gyroball with lift force” 15o tilt gives ~4” break up

  22. 90-95 mph 85-90 mph 80-85 mph 75-80 mph Daisuke Matsuzaka: Does he or doesn’t he? Log of Matsuzaka’s Pitches (as seen by batter) several candidates

  23. “While (Ranger’s lefty reliever C. J. ) Wilson said he threw the pitch against both Alex Cora and Kevin Youkilis in the eighth inning of a May 26 game between the Sox and Rangers, neither batter could verify the claim.” Manchester Union Leader, 6/30/07 Nor can I

  24. Is the Gyroball a Miracle Pitch? • We have come full circle • Gyroball does not have crazy trajectory people have claimed • Gyroball trajectory determined entirely by gravity • Therefore, it seems like a useless pitch • But…. • If batter is expecting a typical fastball… • If batter misinterprets spin as a slider…. • My personal view: gyroball is a useful but not a miracle pitch

  25. Thanks to …. • R. Himeno for sharing his diagrams • Dave Baldwin for teaching me about the craft of pitching • Will Carroll (BP) for some helpful conversations • Dan Fox (BP) for providing the Gameday pitch logs for Matsuzaka • The bloggers at SoSH for asking good questions • Want to know more: • webusers.npl.uiuc.edu/~a-nathan/pob/gyro • a-nathan@uiuc.edu • Science and Baseball meeting, 4 PM today, DR43

  26. spin axis spis

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