OT: When you have a REALLY fast fastball...

"What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed
of light?"

http://whatif.xkcd.com/1/

Spoiler:

"The first thing you see is a blinding light, far outshining the sun. This
gradually fades over the course of a few seconds, and a growing fireball
rises into a mushroom cloud. Then, with a great roar, the blast wave
arrives, tearing up trees and shredding houses. Everything within roughly a
mile of the park is leveled, and a firestorm engulfs the surrounding city.
The baseball diamond is now a sizable crater, centered a few hundred feet
behind the former location of the backstop."

The good news is that, according to the rules of baseball, the batter would
be deemed to have "been hit by the pitch and entitled to take first base."


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Puerto Rico vs US.
    ... Carlos Beltran: 0-3, but playing fundamental baseball all around. ... Bunting a runner over (it would have been an INF Hit if David Wright ... He threw strikes ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.ny-mets)
  • Re: What to do About Giambi
    ... Or putting vaseline or spit on the baseball. ... In every case you still have to demonstrate ability and steroids don't ... You don't think strength is part of ability. ... the ability to hit the ball in the first place. ...
    (rec.sport.football.college)
  • Re: Jeter sucks balls
    ... talk allowed on this newsgroup today in any fashion at all, ... PS. Jeter left cute waitresses more money in tips last year, ... A group that tracks every ball hit in the majors says Derek Jeter is ... the worst fielder in baseball. ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.ny-yankees)
  • Re: What to do About Giambi
    ... Or putting vaseline or spit on the baseball. ... In every case you still have to demonstrate ability and steroids don't ... You don't think strength is part of ability. ... I grant if you can only hit a baseball 300', ...
    (rec.sport.football.college)
  • Re: Tell Us Something We Dont Already Know... Study says Jeter is MLBs Worst Fielder
    ... "Baseball Abstract," and a panel of nine other voters, ranked Jeter ... which it was hit, the type of hit [groundball, flyball, ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.bos-redsox)