326 Two types of impact mechanism that makes "opposite-field hitting" possible : Contribution of each mechanism

Abstract

The "opposite-field hitting" is enabled by hitting the ball with the bat angled horizontally and facing its impacting surface toward the opposite field (the first mechanism: conventional theory). Theoretically, the batters can adopt other approach to successfully hit the ball toward the opposite field: Assuming that the batter hits the lower part of the ball with a bat positioned horizontally and facing toward the center field, the batted ball should travel upward toward the center field. If, however, the bat facing toward the center field is tilted downward to position the head slightly lower than the grip, the batted ball should travel upward and toward the opposite field (the second mechanism). The present study was conducted to determine the contributions of these mechanisms in opposite-field hitting. The 146 trials were analyzed and found that the contribution of the second mechanism (69%) was greater than the first (31%).