Sports for Geeks! Why a Curveball Curves and The Leaping Sliding Sprinting Riding Science Book

Where do jocks and geeks meet? On the nexus between sports and physics, which is where Popular Mechanics' Why a Curveball Curves: The Incredible Science of Sports (Popular Mechanics) finds its captivating subject matter.

In a piece in the April 28, 2008, Newsweek Sharon Begley's "Newton in the Batter's Box" points out just how long ago proto-geek Isaac Newton observed the controversial Magnus Effect which makes curveballs curve, pop-ups act squirrelly, and soccer balls "bend it like Beckham." It seems that while watching tennis matches at Cambridge U. in 1671, sports fan Ike formulated the theory that the topspin put on a ball as it left the racquet made it appear to curve because the "circular motion as well as the progressive motion being communicated to it by that stroak [sic], its parts on that side, where the motions conspire, must press and beat the contiguous Air more violently than on the other." And that, in the words of the master, is the secret to the curveball, laid down nearly two centuries before Abner Doubleday laid out the first diamond.

In Why a Curveball Curves, the Popular Mechanics editors (and not a few athletes, coaches, and sports journalists) describe not only why a curveball curves, but how to hold it, i.e., by the stitching or hide side, and how to release it to generate the much disputed curve. Twenty-five year veteran pitcher Jim Kaat, in his chapter "The Breaking Pitch," describes (augmented by drawings) how to throw the sinking fastball, the curveball--the 4-seamer, 2-seamer, dry spitter, cutter, splitter, screwball, forkball, slider, and the "slurve," (slider+ curveball)--all making use of the backspin, sidespin, or forward spin physics of the pitch as set forth by Newton.

Equal time is given to batting. In the chapters "Anatomy of a Swing," "Babe Ruth's Homerun Secrets," and "How to Hit a Homer," various writers, including the Babe and Lou Pinella, describe the stance, the grip, the angle, the speed, and the other factors which go into meeting the ball at the "sweet spot," (and how to find it on the bat), and of course, the "vision thing" which enables a major league hitter to initiate a successful swing within 225 milliseconds of the pitcher's release. This chapter also discusses the on-going argument as to whether a batter can hit a curve or a fastball farther.

And there's more than just the science of our national pastime. Buzz Braman authors the chapter called "Nothing But Net: Making the 3-Point Shot," which describes and pictures step by step the motions from set to swish. Braman's key point is "wherever the index finger points, the ball goes." Peter Brancazio's chapter "Slam Dunk" shows the phases of the basic dunk, the alley oop, the flying slam dunk, and the freestyle dunk--tomahawk, 360 degree, windmill, etc., and how to use that disputed "hang time" to make it seem longer than the average.

The physics of football's spiraling "long bomb," and the Magnus Effect in bowling are also covered. Extensive chapters on the biomechanics of boxing, golf, cycling, running, skiing, hockey, soccer, tennis, and swimming and diving are given their own chapters in this utterly absorbing book. The biological sciences are not slighted either, as in the analysis of Lance Armstrong's heart and lung capacity, length of femur, and weight to power ratio. Authors Dean Golick and Craig Griffin do the math to try to predict whether Armstrong could have beaten the one-hour Velodrome record if he had trained for that event. The effects of technology upon sports is covered extensively as well, from chemical doping to gene doping, to amber vs. gray-green contact lenses, to ash vs. maple bats, "lively" ball controversies in baseball, golf, and football, strength training techniques, hand and head position and hair (or lack thereof) in swimming, and much more.

Even if you've never thrown a curve or spent time in a physics lab, this book is a fascinating read, hard to put down, as it makes its way through both anecdotes of sports stars and principles of biomechanics in a way which requires no advanced degrees or vast experience with the sport. This book would be useful for youngsters interested in learning the secrets behind the sports they play and for armchair fans who want to know what really going on as those balls move through space.

For young readers, there is a similarly themed book The Leaping, Sliding, Sprinting, Riding Science Book: 50 Super Sports Science Activities, Boasting "The Most Fun You'll Ever Have with Science," author Bobby Mercer covers some of the same ground as its big brother book above. Mercer covers how to locate the bat's "sweet spot" and explains "Curveballs, Dropballs, and Screwballs," and how to generate them with a cardboard tube and ping pong balls to demonstrate that Magnus effect that every pitcher needs for the change-up pitch.

Fifty scientific principles and their sporting applications--from base running to learning how to have "soft hands" on the catch--are demonstrated, with materials and procedures to test the theory involved. You'll freeze your sneakers to prove the importance of friction in guarding in basketball or in soccer. You'll learn how to put the spin on a basketball and a tennis ball and watch a spinning football rise to the occasion on its long axis, all the while learning the physical principles behind these demonstrations as they are put to use in many sports. Hang time, drafting, leaning into a turn, lowering the center of gravity--all of these moves make the man (or woman) in the game--for good and scientific reasons. Knowledge is power--even in sports. These books make the case that even geeks can read up and get some game!