Jimmy Rollins?! Really?!

Yesterday before the Red Sox/Phillies game there was an exhibition of the absurd.  One that attracted a crowd to watch something that was simply not possible.  Red Bull Sponsored a contest to see if Jimmy Rollins could beat a world record of the longest batted ball (575 ft) achieved by Babe Ruth back before Home Runs could be measured accurately.

Sorry to be the hater here, but

1.       The Babe's HR never went 575 ft. IN THE AIR!  The measurement was from where the kid found the ball after it came to a stop.

2.       Jimmy Rollins?!  What?!  The dude averages 10-15 HR a season.  Why not bring back Ozzie Smith for a home run derby.  Seriously Red Bull…that was your choice?

3.       Breaking 575 is not possible in Philadelphia.

If you haven’t done so already, do yourself a favor and read The Physics of Baseball.  Yeah, it’s a ton of math, but it’s fun math.

One thing you will learn is that under normal conditions a ball cannot travel more than 545 ft. in the air. That’s based on max bat speed, max pitch speed, and optimal trajectory.  So if somehow Jimmy Rollins were to put together the perfect swing he’d land 30 feet shot of the record.

Sure they doctored the bat and used loaded balls. I know I know.  But remember, it’s Jimmy Rollins!

Tangent: Ok, wait a minute.  Red Bull was trying to break the record held by The Bambino with a loaded, doctored bat?  Let’s say somehow they pulled it off.  Can you really say it’s real?  Babe Ruth, in a game, off live pitching, with a regulation bat versus Jimmy Rollins off a juiced ball and a loaded bat getting soft-toss down the center?   Come on Red Bull!

For argument sake let’s say the juiced bat and balls give Jimmy Rollins the ability to swing the bat with maximum force and that the juiced balls give the effect of a max speed pitch.  So a ball hit perfectly on the ideal trajectory…30 feet short.

So how do you make up those 30 feet?

Simple:  Go to Denver.  Every 1000 ft. elevation adds 7 feet of flight.  And for that matter, if you can get the perfectly hit ball on a 100-degree day in Denver add 8 more feet to the  ball (4 feet for every 10-degrees of air temp.  It was 80-degrees in Philadelphia yesterday).   Voila... 588 Ft.  New Worlds Record!

How about this: The perfect bat speed + the perfect pitch speed = the perfect trajectory + Denver, Colorado + 100-degree heat + a 25 MPH tailwind + a heated ball 20-degrees above normal + the ball being hit down the foul line!  All that would equal a 682 Foot HR!!!!!!!

…Or just next time, Red Bull, don’t have Jimmy Rollins as your batter.