Section B · Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, September 2, 1998
Baseball rates science status
Web site explores game's scientific side
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — From Tom Candiotti's knuckleball to Rickey Henderson's swing, there is a lot more to baseball than stars and statistics. There's science.
Ever wonder how Candiott's signature pitch moves through the air? Or why baseballs seem to sail out of Coors Field more often than anywhere else?
Check out the Science of Baseball Web site (www.exploratorium.edu/baseball), which made its debut yesterday. The Web site, a project of the Exploratorium, a hands-on San Francisco science museum, is aimed at fans of all ages.
The project manager, Jim Spadaccini, is an unabashed sports fan. He was especially amused by Candiotti, who was asked about the dynamics of his knuckle-ball for a video clip.
"He said, 'Well, you guys should know this, you're the scientists,' " Spadaccini said. He explained that the ball moves the way it does because it is released with very little spin and because the air acts against the stitches.
"The grip is held not with the knuckles
but with the fingernails," Candiotti says. "Maybe they should call it the fingernail ball."
Designed to look like a 1950s-style comic book, the Web site includes interactive projects — including how to find the sweet spot of your bat with the tap of a hammer.
The baseball site is the third in a series concerning the science of sport. The Exploratorium also has produced similar sites focused on hockey and cycling.
sites focused on books. "We started about a year ago." Spadacini said. "We had a traveling show about sports and science come to the museum, so we decided we wanted to put something up on the Web. But we didn't want it to just be a brochure for the exhibit. We wanted something educational."
About a quarter of a million people have visited the Science of Hockey site, he said.
said. After visitors to the Science of Baseball site watch a video clip of a player, such as Candiotti, they can then view physicist Paul Doherty explain the science behind it.
In one clip discussing a bat's sweet spot, Doherty explains why it stings when someone hits the ball on the end of the bat.
"What's happened is that some of the energy you've put into the swing goes into you hands and not in the ball," he
says.
Another section of the site is dubbed the Time Machine. Users can plug one of several baseball players into a different era and see how he would fare. For example, put Babe Ruth in the modern era and he would hit more home runs, but his overall batting average would be lower.
Spadaccini said the Time Machine was created with the help of Pete Palmer, a statistician with Total Baseball.
"That's the timeless quality of baseball." Spadaccini said. "You can, with stats, bake Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds."
For Web surfers who are not scientifically inclined, the site includes articles and film clips about the Negro leagues, women in baseball and an online tour of the Louisville Slugger factory.
the Coulsdale School district.
"Sports is a great way to reach the public," Spadaccini said. "If you can find real world subjects that interest people — it can be a great vehicle for helping them understand science and, in turn, better understand the sport."
Tyson still punching mad following minor accident
The Associated Press
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Mike Tyson punched one man in the chest and kicked another in the groin after a minor traffic accident, police said yesterday.
There were no serious injuries. Tyson later complained of chest pains and was treated at a hospital emergency room and released.
In an updated report, police said the car in which Tyson was riding, driven by his wife, Monica, was struck Monday afternoon in a three-car, chain-reaction accident in this Maryland
Tyson adviser Shelly Finkel refused to comment yesterday on the accident, which came about three weeks before the fighter reapplied for his boxing license in Nevada.
debt in this Mary Jane's suburb northwest of Washington. Earlier, police had said Tyson's wife had struck the rear of another car.
Tyson:
He was suspended last year for biting Evander Holyfield during a heavyweight title fight.
trouble.
After the car accident, the drivers of the other two cars were talking when Tyson walked up and began arguing with them,
said Montgomery County police representative Derek Ballies.
Witnesses said Tyson's bodyguards restrained him, according to Baliles. The bodyguards were in a car traveling behind the others in heavy traffic.
Police recorded the day's events as a misdemeanor assault with no charges filed.
"In the state of Maryland, if a misdeanor occurs and it is not in the presence of a police officer, we can't place charges or place anyone under arrest," Ballies said.
it is up to the other drivers to decide whether to make a complaint to police, and it was unclear if either wanted to. Ballies said. They have up to a year to do so.
ryson and his wife declined to make a statement, police said.
Tyson is to appear Sept. 19 at a hearing before the Nevada Athletic Commission to determine if the state will let him box again. Tyson was suspended by the commission in July 1997 for biting Holyfield's ears.
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