He’s 9 meters away, the batters in a typical game are three times further away, so he’s got to see the ball, unsheath the sword and cut the extremely hard baseball cleanly in two. That ball is traveling at just under 45 meters per second, so everything is happening in 0.2 seconds from when the ball first appears until it’s cleared in two.
Don’t kid yourself, this is something only a few people on planet Earth can do.
4 Likes
Once he’s got it timed up, he sees the guy put the ball in the pitching machine, then draws at the right time. Also, he’s 30.1 feet away, about 1/2 the distance of a regulation mound-to-plate distance. The ball comes out of a grown-up pitcher’s hand around 54 feet away from the batter. So, not so dramatic after all. Again, it’s an absolutely consistent speed, in the same place every time. Not everyone can do it, but any major league hitter could get it wired in no time. On the other hand, there’s no chance this guy could hit major league pitching.
Have a look at the ball, after it’s cut. It’s a tennis ball, not a baseball, so not extremely hard.
2 Likes
Written like someone who has never, ever, stepped foot in a batting cage. Even with the automatic batting machines, the ball doesn’t go to the same spot. There is even more variability with hand-loaded batting machines.
And that’s what the inside of a batting-machine baseball looks like. Plastic outer, rubber layer, then string interior like a regular baseball. The string interior is either attached to the other half of the shell or is separated from both halves of the shell.
Ha! I taught hitting for years. If you get a Jugs type machine set up right, and put the ball in with the seams consistent, it’s pretty good. At a shorter distance, it’s even more consistent, of course. Watch the video here, and tell me how different the pitches are. They’re not. You can make a point without being insulting, btw.
Oh, based on your posts in this thread, I thought that’s what we were doing. 
If you were a hitting (batting?) coach for years, you would know that the ball moves around a lot. Color me dubious. Sure, it’s going to be in roughly strike zone-like area, but that’s a sword ~2mm thin cutting a ~10 cm ball cleanly with almost no warning. Geometrically, if it was set up to hit a roughly strike-zone sized target at 18 m, that’s still an area of ~600 cm^2 where that ball could go at 9 m.
Meh. He fouled it off, or popped it up, at best.
Yeah, I was a hitting instructor. Do you have some kind of point about proper baseball words you’re trying to make there?
Ball movement, plus changing speeds, different release points, and the possibility that you’re not going to be seeing a fastball at all means hitting a live fastball is a shitload harder than timing up a pitching machine set to high speeds, whether you’re wielding a sword or a bat. I don’t know where you got the impression that hitting a batting cage ball is harder than actual hitting. In this case, the ball is not cutting or taking any hard break. It’s straight, to my eye. It’s not easy at that distance, and the man is quick and efficient, but as I said somewhere above, I don’t think it’s the best test of this guy’s skills, as I have seen him do other demos, and he is seriously talented.
Any goombah can make contact at a batting cage, with enough looks. Precious few people in the world can stand in against a pitcher with a legit 99 mph fastball that he can control and do anything with it. Absolute speed isn’t even that much of the equation (although it’s always nice, if you’ve got it). Pitchers and catchers know batter’s strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, and have an arsenal of pitches to deploy based on the situation. Deception, and keeping the hitter off balance is most of the battle, assuming your command and control is working. That’s why hitting is so hard, and so fun.
2 Likes
Yeah, this guy is such a talentless loser!
That’s not even a real bullet! And it’s plastic!
Also, not a clean cut through the center.
No talent at all…
1 Like
From my post just above yours:
I saw Uma Thurman do something like that once.
4 Likes
There are no free pitches, they all count.
I guess that’s why it’s always been, “One strike, you’re out”.
–
I also agree that hitting a baseball does not seem like the most impressive example of this guy’s sword handling, unsheathing speed notwithstanding.
2 Likes
By count, I meant it’s a ball or a strike. Which changes the, wait for it… count.
1 Like
You must be fun at parties.
1 Like
My point, and several others here, is that the video originally posted demonstrates an amazing amount of skill and athleticism. Stating that does not take anything away from the skill and athleticism of major league batters, hitting baseballs thrown by a pitcher. Both conditions can exist at the same time.
The implication of your “meh” attitude is that the swordsman in the video is not amazing, skillful, or athletic. It’s insulting to him and patronizing to everyone who posted with admiration of his skill and talent.
So maybe you would face less push back if you were less insulting to the other posters on this thread? Just spitballing here…
1 Like
I hope it’s not disrespectful to say that it felt, a little bit less like a tribute to his skill at a tradition that requires discipline, trained attention, and years of practice, and instead felt, just a little bit, like getting Muhammed Ali to fight a kangaroo? And then heaping praise on him for a flashy gimmicky thing, instead of something harder?
That’s also not a knock on his skills and person generally.
1 Like
My original reply was in direct response to a question over how that stunt compared to hitting a 99mph fastball. I never dissed the guy, and said it was a cool demo, but just doesn’t bear comparison with hitting a live baseball. Then there was a lot of pearl clutching.
Again, I said this about him, just above:
Unbunch.
Would the fielders have to catch or tag him with both halves to put him out?
3 Likes
I asked some umpires but it came to a split decision.
4 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
