@adbono posted:@JucoDad, we are not going to agree on this one no matter how many graphs you post - and I don’t have the energy or the inclination for a debate on the issue. When it comes to theories about hitting I defer to higher authorities. In my case, it’s a former MLB player who has been a AA hitting instructor for the past 8 years with the Twins & the Cubs. According to him (and I agree) teaching “launch angle” is a very flawed approach that only works for a small percentage of elite hitters. A certain amount of backspin adds carry to a batted or a thrown baseball.
I’m discussing long toss and the anomaly I’ve noticed for several years. If you were to rank team member's velo off the mound and distance of carry in the air of long toss, the rankings would not be the same.
Some of it could be launch angle, I blew out my shoulder throwing popups – I know my son doesn’t throw long toss with much loft. However, in golf they have realized the Magnus effect (physics of backspin lift of a ball) helps to a point, but too much spin will reduce overall flight distance. What is too much spin? It depends on launch angle and velocity. This understanding has created the newish market for reduced spin divers and golf balls. I believe this applies to all spears with backspin.
I’ve always wondered why my son’s long toss carry did not reflect his velocity out of hand. I now believe his high spin rate (80 percentile) reduces the overall carry of his velocity out of hand (88 percentile). Just my opinion, but the logic works for me.