Can More People Hit A Home Run Or Dunk A Basketball?

[Bigtymer301]

If you said hitting a professional HR then basketball. But Ima go with hr, I was knocking shyt out of the park during intramural softball leagues on college

Nikka.....Don't ever compare hitting a ball the size of a canelope being tossed underhand, to hitting a ball the size of a lemon being thrown overhand. You would literally hurt yourself trying to hit a baseball like a softball. Totally different.

 

[Bilz]

I'm getting those numbers from advanced metrics. Forget the fact that I played baseball, physics alone says that's impossible. Exit speed of a baseball determines how far a ball travels. Exit speed=q*(pitch speed) + (1+q)*(bat speed) where q is roughly 0.2 for a wood bat. Average MLB fastball speed is 91 mph out of the hand, and 83 mph at the plate. MLB average exit speed is 103 mph, bat speed ranges roughly from 70-85 mph.



Exit speed required for a given distance
Using the Baseball Home Run Simulator here are the required exit speeds to hit a baseball each distance:

Warning: These distances may vary depending on angle, elevation, etc.

• 90 mph, 300 feet
• 93 mph, 315 feet
• 95 mph, 326 feet
• 100 mph, 350 feet
• 102 mph, 360 feet
• 105 mph, 375 feet
• 110 mph, 400 feet
• 115 mph, 420 feet
• 120 mph, 443 feet

Note: Based on the above, 1 mph of additional exit speed makes the ball go 5 more feet. This would be roughly 4 feet for 1mph bat speed - which is less than the 7-8 feet we have heard from other studies. It's clear from measured MLB exit speeds for every single at-bat in 2009 and 2010, that no MLB player could possibly have a bat speed anywhere near 100 mph. As you can see from the chart at the top, Pujols had above average exit speed of 106.9 mph in 2009, so his bat speed must be higher than average. His average bat speed was 88 mph. Average MLB homerun distance is 330 feet.
Your, telling me you saw average people hit a home run off a tee, in a major league ball park, with a wooden bat.... sorry I don't believe that. No non professional is generating enough bat speed to hit a stationary ball with no velocity 330 feet. In the DMV we hold the baseball championships in the Nats stadium. I go every year for free because of my job. The teams that typically play are teams full of these big white kids. Kids who have been playing baseball their whole lives. Kids that are light-years better hitters than the average person. A lot of D1 talent, and in 4 years I have yet to see anybody come close to hitting a homerun, but I'm suppose to believe that a random person off the street, can just pick up a wooden bat, and hit a baseball off a tee 330 feet....

I never said an average person off the street was hitting home runs off tees, I'm just saying it has been done. There are clips on YouTube.

You claimed it took a swing twice as fast as Albert Pujols to hit a 30 mph pitch over the fence and it is not true. I've even played with guys who hit home runs with wood bats in soft toss.

A 5 oz baseball doesn't have nearly as much force of a 32 ounce bat. That's why a 90mph fastball plus a 90mph swing is only creating an exit speed around 100-105. The batter supplies the majority of the power. You have been overstating the value of pitch speed as it relates to distance and exit velocity. If what you are saying was true, pitchers would just lob the ball in and generate weak flyouts.

 

[bnm8907]

It's dunking

Hitting a homerun even a BP homerun takes skill and these 3 factors

1. What type of ballpark
2. What handiness is the batter
3. Weather

1. Not all ballparks are equal in dimensions
2. Some ballparks cater to one handiness and not the other
3. If it's not a dome the weather can effect where the ball travels


Dunking, anyone can put up a 10 foot hoop in their yard and practice until they get it and not worry about other factors out of their natural ability

I agree with you until the bold. If you are physical mature(stopped growing) and ur not close to dunking now. There is nothing that can be done that can get you to dunk.

 

[Silkk]

Homerun, easily.

Just take a look at the fat slobs in your office/classroom. You could give them a whole year of extensive training, and they MAY be able to tap backboard. Not to mention, but only 14% of Male Americans are over 6'0.
If the question was- How many people can hit a HR off a MLB pitcher? Then I would totally agree. But practice pitches?!?.
If you give the typical American man 100 practice pitches, I am sure a lot of dudes would be able to hit at least ONE homer.

Bolded is key here

 

[Hersh]

dgf who can do it..

but the feeling of dunking on someone >>> grandslam >>> reg dunk >>> homerun

 

[WhoShotCha]

This isn't even a good question. Dunking is milessssss easier to do. I can tell you aint never played baseball

 

[The Jewnited States]

This isn't even a good question. Dunking is milessssss easier to do. I can tell you aint never played baseball

i actually played baseball my entire life. played a bit of college ball too. i've hit a baseball out of a pro sized park before in batting practice. i've never dunked (i'm only 5'9"). i also know hitting a baseball hard is probably the hardest thing to do in all the major sports

dunking is def easier though. i know people who are tall and never really played ball like that who can dunk. i don't know ANYONE who has just picked up a baseball bat and had the power/eye hand coordination required to hit a homerun

 

[nieman]

OP isn't even playing fair. Major parks are all different. Secondly, but for a HR, all you have to do is get it over the barrier, right? If you've never hit a HR out of a school yard/playground field, I'd question your athletic ability. YES, those count...and would be similar to batting practice. OP didn't say major pitchers. I'm 5'9 and I've never been able to dunk. I could grab rim in my younger days, but I couldn't palm the ball so I could never get it over the rim. Now, I prob could with 2 hands BUT I didn't have the leaping ability to get up that high...and I had a 41" vert in my early 20s

It's HR. Fields vary, but regulation is regulation and height eliminates most.

 

[Megadeus]

Homerun, easily.

Just take a look at the fat slobs in your office/classroom. You could give them a whole year of extensive training, and they MAY be able to tap backboard. Not to mention, but only 14% of Male Americans are over 6'0.
If the question was- How many people can hit a HR off a MLB pitcher? Then I would totally agree. But practice pitches?!?.
If you give the typical American man 100 practice pitches, I am sure a lot of dudes would be able to hit at least ONE homer.

#1- limiting the pool to just Americans wasnt in the hypothetical did you even read the OP?

#2- you dont have to be over 6 feet in order to dunk

#3 - there are literally professional baseball players who have gone their whole careers without hitting a home run batting practice or in game... so this assertion that the typical man could do it is ridiculous.

#4- im sure youve tried dunking as most people have, and know how difficult it is. But have you ever actually TRIED to hit a ball 350+ feet thru the air with a wooden bat? Just curious

 

[Wear My Dawg's Hat]

It is common to see multiple dunks at an average black HS basketball game.

It is common to see one or two dunks at an average white HS basketball game.

It is rare these days for a black HS to have a baseball program.

It is rare to see a home run hit at an elite white HS baseball game, even with potential MLB draft recruits on the field.

 

[ThaBoyBam]

Dunking hands down. Head to your local batting range and try to his a 75 mph pitch. You can train to dunk, but hitting a baseball, gotta start that shyt when you like 5

 

[Bilz]

#1- limiting the pool to just Americans wasnt in the hypothetical did you even read the OP?

#2- you dont have to be over 6 feet in order to dunk

#3 - there are literally professional baseball players who have gone their whole careers without hitting a home run batting practice or in game... so this assertion that the typical man could do it is ridiculous.

#4- im sure youve tried dunking as most people have, and know how difficult it is. But have you ever actually TRIED to hit a ball 350+ feet thru the air with a wooden bat? Just curious

There are pro basketball players who haven't dunked as well. They are rare, but so are the pro baseball players who never hit a home run in any setting. I can't name one.

 

[Tom Foolery]

You really think you can knock one out the park on this bytch here. Factoring in Power, Hand/Eye Coordination and Bat Speed.

 

[Larry Lambo]

If the question assumes right now with no chance to train for it, it's dunking. I'd say 5% of men between 15-35 can dunk, whereas maybe 1-2% could hit a HR in a major league park.

Give them a year to train, and then it would be the home run. A decent portion of young men have good hand-eye co-ordination but never played baseball. Plus, in theory, you could learn to hit a HR at a later age than dunking.

 

[Kal El]

OP isn't even playing fair. Major parks are all different. Secondly, but for a HR, all you have to do is get it over the barrier, right? If you've never hit a HR out of a school yard/playground field, I'd question your athletic ability. YES, those count...and would be similar to batting practice. OP didn't say major pitchers. I'm 5'9 and I've never been able to dunk. I could grab rim in my younger days, but I couldn't palm the ball so I could never get it over the rim. Now, I prob could with 2 hands BUT I didn't have the leaping ability to get up that high...and I had a 41" vert in my early 20s

It's HR. Fields vary, but regulation is regulation and height eliminates most.

At 5'9" you should've been able to dunk if your vert was really 41 inches.

Either you got t-rex arms or your vert wasn't as nice as you thought it was.