This Ball is Impossible to Hit

- This is me pitching a ball that's impossible to hit, and I engineered it out of necessity because I'm facing off against the world's greatest wiffle ball players.

Now, wiffle ball is the popular backyard version of baseball here in America.

What makes it really interesting is the balls have these holes on one side, which means they can curve like crazy, (balls clacking) but how does that work?

And how do baseballs, or really balls from any sport, actually curve through the air for that matter?

So today, we're gonna test our way to find an answer to that question, and since I grew up playing countless hours of wiffle ball myself, I'm gonna revive a lifelong dream of going head to head against the pros, and I don't wanna give too much away but I might have had to rely on my engineering skills (objects clacking) to level the playing field.

(dramatic music) (person yelping) Now, the whole idea for this journey of discovery started with an impromptu visit to my childhood home in Brea, California.

Last time I lived here was over two decades ago, so I'm just gonna go ambush 'em.

I want a tour.

(doorbell ringing) Hey, what's up?

I'm Mark.

(person laughing) How are you?

- Good, how are you?

- Good.

I used to live here.

- I know. - Oh, word got out?

- So, after reading the whole family, they were kind enough to let me take a walk down memory lane.

- Oh my gosh.

If these walls could talk, you know.

I used to keep my micro machines right in this little cabinet here.

Up there on the roof is where me and Scott Glacier used to throw water balloons on my sister and her friend's sunbathing down here.

That's an option for you kids.

I also took the chance to confess that all the holes in their metal shed were arrowed shots from a homemade crossbow I fashioned in eighth grade.

- There was a target, I wasn't very good at it apparently.

- But what made me most happy to hear is how all the neighborhood kids still played out front all the time, because while that may look like just a street to some, for us, it was a soccer, hockey, basketball and baseball stadium where long forgotten neighborhood legends were born, where each game always felt so big and the only thing that could stop us was when the street lights came on, signaling it was time to go home for dinner, and to my absolute delight, they let me hop in the game.

- I'ma go ahead and call it, right out of the gate.

- And look, I'm not gonna say it myself, (person groaning) but were there some rumors that Mark the long ball legend Rober had returned?

(ball clacking) I'm not gonna deny it.

- It's just like old times.

This is great.

- Even at the mound, I was still slinging lasers.

- Still got it.

- And as invigorating as this was, it did make me question if I missed out on my true calling as a professional wiffle ball player because you should know, they're actually professional wiffle ball players.

And while we share a very similar origin story, our history split paths when they kept the dream alive and turned those adolescent visions of grandeur into the world's first pro wiffle football league.

In fact, this is Kyle as an 11 year old and now 14 years later, as the league founder and commissioner.

He told me every year starting in spring, eight teams compete in a four-month season with players traveling from all over the country.

There's a draft, playoff, a world series, and of course, for 14 years, they tracked every possible stat that is possibly trackable.

As you'd expect, there's heated team rivalries and league legends like Jimmy Knorp, AKA "the Knorpedo", who's considered by many to be the best pitching-hitting dual threat in the league, and as the reigning back to back World Series champ, it's easy to see why.

None of them get paid to play it so their truest compensation is the sheer thrill of victory in this game that has united them since childhood.

(people cheering) - Perfect game! Perfect game!

- He also told me they'd be playing in Oklahoma right around the time I'd be traveling through.

I was finally gonna get my chance to play under the lights in front of an actual crowd, which meant it was time for the long ball legend to refer to himself from the third person and make his professional debut.

And I was playing it cool but right outta the gate, I spotted the unmistakable flowing hair.

- Who's the best?

- Back to back champ in the house right here.

- Of Jimmy, Captain Clutch North.

(upbeat music) This was definitely the big leagues.

- So, how many per team?

- We like to do three V three.

- So we divided up into teams and it was game on.

(triumphant music) - All right. Here you go, Jimmy.

(triumphant music) - Kyle connected early to get one man on, so it was over to the Red Barron to make it two.

- Oh yeah, Barron.

(triumphant music) - Nice.

- And that made it my turn, but I wasn't here to waste time just getting on bases.

- I'ma go ahead and do it.

- Call the shot. - Over the green monster.

- With the streetlights of my youth finally being replaced with the stadium lights I'd always dreamed of, this was my...

- Uh-oh.

- What?

That feels impossible to hit.

- Now just like in baseball, in wiffle ball, you get four balls and three strikes, and it's a strike if it hits anywhere on the rectangular pipes, or more embarrassingly, the metal plate in the middle.

- I'm sorry, team.

- And with the crowd visibly unimpressed, I swapped with Kyle to pitch run his second base.

- No! No! No!

(people cheering) - Everywhere I go, I'm getting out.

- So we had two outs but now that I'd cleared the cobwebs out, I could just sense things were about to change.

(person sighing) - Ah.

- Well, I think we all know I was always more of a pitcher anyways.

(person exhaling) It was time to give these boys a little taste of old school, suburban California street ball, because Jimmy Knorp's rain on Mount Olympus had come to an end.

- Oh. (laughs) Whoops.

Do you take a face on that?

(upbeat music) Ooh!

(people clapping) - And with that absolute dinger to center-field, Captain Clutch had struck again.

(upbeat music) - That's witchcraft!

- And look, I'm not proud of my performance but in my defense, unlike the West Coast ball I grew up playing, in the pros, as you can see here, these pitches are moving 10 feet left to right.

It's like the ball had propellers and it makes it nearly impossible to figure out if it's a pitch you should swing at or a pitch you should duck from, or perhaps both.

(ball clacking) (people gasping) - How did he do that?

- And the rest of the game, unfortunately, was just more of the same.

Although I am proud to say, in the third inning, I finally got on base.

(people gasping) - Ah!

(upbeat music) (people cheering) - And so despite all my best efforts, they narrowly edged us out for the win.

This was not how it was supposed to happen.

It was gonna be a long plane ride home but truthfully, a plan was already forming in my head to science the cred out of this and use my engineering abilities to level the playing field, and step one was to fly Jimmy and Kyle out to CrunchLabs to study exactly how they can curve a ball as much as they do, and after making a bunch of observations and gathering a bunch of data myself, I then marched them straight over to the home of the San Francisco Giants 'cause they're regarded as the team with the most advanced pitcher development program in all of Major League baseball.

(person laughing) - Wow.

This feels pretty big.

- And right outta the gate, I was incredibly relieved to see their elite players and coaches struggling against the Knorpedo just as much as I did.

(people laughing) (jingle music) But then it was into the clubhouse for the real purpose of the trip, to meet with Brian Banister, whose deep understanding of the science behind his spinning baseball is sort of their secret sauce for developing all these great pitchers, and he's got the hardware to show for it.

- When you use these concepts, you win World Series.

(people laughing) - And so after that, I was feeling pretty good about my handle on how exactly they were making the ball curve, but as final confirmation on my suspicions, we also met up with the Stanford baseball team to run one last test with a normal baseball versus an identical one that was just missing the seam, and as a further point of indication, I'm happy to report their nationally ranked batters also fell victim to Kyle and the Knorpedo.

(people laughing) And so after my extensive data collection research and interviews, here's the answer as to how any sort of ball curves through the air, and it starts with a riddle.

Let's say you're an astronaut on the space station and you go out for a spacewalk to fix a solar panel with your big wrench, and as you're heading out, you get distracted by the view and miss grabbing the handle, and now you're very slowly drifting away.

What do you do to save yourself?

And you might say, well, you just sort of swim your way back, but in zero gravity as demonstrated here by an actual astronaut, you can flail your arms all you want but your center of mass won't actually move.

All right, so did you think of the answer?

The trick is you throw the wrench as fast as possible in the opposite direction and that will give you just a little push to slowly move you back to the space station.

And this makes intuitive sense, right?

Like, if you're on a skateboard and you throw something heavy to the right, you're gonna move back to the left.

- Mate!

You had one job!

- Well, this is exactly how rockets move around in space where there's no air.

They create a chemical reaction from their fuel to make a lot of tiny wrenches and they just throw them out of the back really fast, and the rocket naturally has to go the other way just like you as an astronaut.

So, that's one thing you need to know and the other is the Coanda Effect, which states that fluids like to curve and flow around a smooth surface.

You actually already know this.

If you've ever noticed how water will flow around a curved spoon.

Well, air is also a fluid and so it curves just like water as you can see here because the strings are following with the airflow as it turns the round corner on the frisbee.

Okay, so now let's put those two concepts together.

From the ball's perspective, air is rushing past on the top side here and curving around really nicely because the rotation of the ball matches great with the airflow, but on the bottom side, they're opposite, so there's sort of a head-on collision with the air rushing by, creating turbulence.

That means more air curves around the top, which means more little air wrenches are thrown diagonally down, and as a result, the back-spun ball moves diagonally up, just like the astronaut, causing it to curve up.

The fancy term for this is the Magnus Effect, and big light balls like beach balls are great for demonstrating this effect because they have lots of surface areas so they throw off lots of wrenches, but they're also really light so the air wrenches have more of an effect.

And now that you know this, you know exactly what causes the curve on tennis balls, soccer balls, pink pong balls, record-breaking basketballs, golf balls and baseballs.

With the baseball, the seams help grab even more air wrenches as the ball spins but they also provide the pitchers a better grip so they can spin the ball even faster.

Our normal versus smooth ball test confirmed this when the normal baseball with the seams was curving so much more.

- By the way, this same principle is how frisbees seem to defy gravity, because air curves over the smooth edge, throwing wrenches down all around, turning it into a freaking jet pack.

Now having said that, you should know that the wiffle ball is very similar yet slightly different than all of those.

- As long as you scuff up the side with the holes, which something all serious players will do, then by comparison, this side is now much smoother.

That means the air has a much easier time curving around like water on a smooth spoon, throwing down the air wrenches, causing the ball to lift towards the smooth side.

And sure enough, when we check the high speed footage, we see that in every case, the ball is curving towards the smooth side and away from the holes.

So, now whenever you see a ball curving, just think of tiny little astronaut wrenches flying off the back of the ball as it spins through the air.

And now that I knew there's secrets to ball curvature, it was time to use that knowledge to engineer some sweet revenge with an 18 second build montage.

(upbeat music) And so it was back to Oklahoma with a duffel bag full of surprises addressed specifically for Jimmy Knorp.

- But before we get to that, you might have noticed CrunchLabs has a new addition, my backyard.

That's because to fight summer brain drain and make this your least boring summer ever, we created Camp CrunchLabs.

Now, Camp CrunchLabs is a 12 week virtual summer camp featuring weekly videos with mega experiments that I do and then weekly super challenges that you do, and the best weekly challenge submission of the whole summer gets a platinum ticket to come out here with me for the biggest mega experiment of the all and the final video of the summer.

On top of that, usually the CrunchLabs Build Boxes, where we build a really fun toy together, where I teach you all the juicy physics of how they work, comes every month, but to coincide with the Camp CrunchLabs weekly challenges and videos, we can ship them to you every week.

- Yes! Look!

- So, if you want a 12 week summer camp where you can learn to think like an engineer with 0% chance of bug bites and poison ivy, head to CampCrunchLabs.com to reserve one of the limited spots, and I'll see you at summer camp.

- Oh, look who it is.

(indistinctive chatter) Number one.

- I took the opportunity of admiring my new gift to avoid making eye contact with the Knorpedo and his tactics of intimidation.

- Got a bag of stuff here.

It should be a little bit better than last time.

Play ball.

- The rematch was officially on.

- All right, I'm at the mound. - Let's go.

- And word must have spread 'cause an even larger crowd had gathered to watch.

Playing with the pros had been my childhood dream, yet my last outing was closer to a nightmare.

(person exhaling) So, I decided to give them a small taste of what they could expect for round two and wound up to deliver the hot steamy appetizer.

(triumphant music) Dinner is served.

Now, all I had to do was retrieve and reload the brass slug, because if you preload a brass cylinder against a spring in a 3D-printed ball like this and then take apart a $1 kitchen timer and harvest the geared mechanism, then when you wind up the wiffle ball hemispheres, you get a one and a half second delay until this screw rotates and releases the spring-loaded plug just like an astronaut wrench, and that alters the trajectory in midair, making it impossible to predict where to swing.

And as you can see, unpredictability is a pitcher's best friend.

Unfortunately, after just two strikes, they found my Achilles heel and rendered the ball useless, which is exactly why you always have a backup plan.

Ooh, just missed the strikeout.

(person laughing) This one used the same kitchen timer geared mechanism, only this time, the two wiffle ball hemispheres were preloaded against each other with the spring.

So, after the one and a half second delay, your hitting options went from one good one to two bad ones, which was just enough to secure my very first strikeout.

(person cheering) Unfortunately, the crafty Knorpedo deduced correctly that by simply stepping forward, they could make contact before the ball had time to split, which meant it was time for the backup-backup plan, the wiffle copter, and you might think now I'm just being a bit cheeky but I did a thorough reading of the rules and it's a strike if it hits anywhere on the pipe or metal plates above the two legs, but it makes no mention of front or back.

- Let's go. (laughs) Let's go.

Exploiting loopholes.

- Unfortunately, my smugness was short-lived, 'cause you don't become a professional wiffle ball player without a tremendous amount of hand-eye coordination.

So with two runners on, it was time to level things up with this 3D-printed, triple 10,000 RPM fly-wheeled monstrosity of a personal pitching machine, AKA the Demogorgon.

Now, the Demogorgon is calibrated to launch his cruise missiles at just under the 74 mile per hour speed limit on pitches in the league.

The only problem is, that kind of speed requires a lot of flowing electrons and battery power soon became a concern, and that's just not a position you wanna find yourself in with Captain Clutch at the plate, sadly giving them the first lead of the game, and I was concerned things would start to get away from me, but thankfully, (people gasping) Jimmy can't take every at bat.

And after a pop-up and a routine catch by the Red Barron, I'd survived the first inning with only one allowed run to show for it.

For the first time, I was feeling good about our chances, which meant it was time to show the world I was more than just a pitcher.

(ball clacking) - Ooh!

(ball clacking) - How is that possible?

- So it was another strikeout, but then Barron got on base followed by Kyle with an absolute bomb to center-field.

- Yes!

Let's go.

- Straight over the green monster, which meant suddenly, we were up one to two.

For the first time ever, we were in the lead and at this rate, (person exhaling) yeah, I struck out again, but we were still winning.

And with the final play of the inning, Barron capitalized on a bad throw to second for a potential inside the park home run, but there's a major league wiffle ball rule where the strike zone doubles as the catcher.

So, if you don't beat the throw home, (people cheering) then you're out, and heading into the second inning, I was fresh outta batteries so we had Kyle take them out, and after two strikes, they got on base, or at least they would've if first base didn't go rogue.

And now that first base had a taste for freedom, going free range with the top speed of 50 miles per hour, I decided to bring him back after seeing the Knorpedo was up next 'cause there was plenty more where that came from, but my dreams were crushed- - Oh! - when he just knorped it out of the park.

- Oh, come on!

Come on. Boo!

- And now the game was tied and Jimmy had clearly demonstrated he's a sore winner.

On the next play, they hit one deep and were threatening to score again, but I had a short circuited first base that needed some avenging.

(upbeat music) - Yeah! (laughs) - And with them ahead three to two headed into the bottom of the second, this was the perfect time for my lucky bat.

And just as I'd hoped, the increased surface area put me on first base, and with the little teamwork, I scored a run and we would've kept it going if someone wouldn't have struck out, Barron.

- Oh my gosh. (laughs) - Okay, fine. Me too.

So, we were headed into the final inning tied at three and we kept Kyle on the mound even though he said his arm wasn't at full strength, and of course, Captain Clutch took full advantage on the first pitch.

So, I volunteered to take over pitching duties.

The problem was I had run out of gimmick wiffle balls and gimmick personal-pitching machines, but thanks to the power of pneumatics, I hadn't run out of gimmick strike zones.

which gave my floater a bit more room to work with.

So, after getting one out with the generous strike zone, some good old-fashioned hustle got us the second.

But with Jimmy at bat and knowing what was at stake, one of their players disconnected the airline, which honestly felt a little like cheating but I took the high road and let it slide.

This time, I was really out of tricks.

It was just me versus Captain Clutch Knorp himself, Mano Imano, and on my first pitch, I got him on the delayed riser.

My second pitch, got him with my modified slider.

(people cheering) If I was really gonna do this, I would need to rely on everything I had learned on this journey of discovery.

(ball clacking) And that was strike three.

- Yes!

- I had struck out the world's greatest wiffle ball player, and earning that subtle nod of mutual respect from the Knorpedo sort of felt like a Michael passing the torch to Kobe type-of-moment, and down by one headed into our final at bat, it lasted about as long as it took to immediately strike me out again.

- That wasn't cool.

- Now, the game wasn't over yet, but instead of the two runs we needed to win, we quickly got two outs, but Barron kept our hopes alive with the base hit, and by some absolute miracle, I finally got a real hit fair and square (people cheering) which put me and Barron on second and third.

- Let's go!

(suspenseful music) - So, it all came down to Kyle, and as soon as I saw contact, I knew it wasn't enough to clear the wall.

So, I started my mad dash with my sight set on home plate.

It was a risky move but I knew it would mean victory for our team.

With Jimmy taking the cutoff at second, the gauntlet was thrown.

His arm versus my legs, no more tricks.

Okay, well maybe just one more trick.

With a blast of air at a hundred PSI, their catcher was nowhere to be found, clearing my triumphant return to that most beautiful of white rubber pentagons.

(people cheering) (triumphant music) As we celebrated the game, it almost felt like at any moment, the streetlights would come on, signaling it would be time to head home for dinner, and I was reminded of a truth it feels like Jimmy and Kyle and all of their buddies have never lost sight of, finding something you're truly passionate about that brings you joy is one of life's most lovely gifts.

- Mark, what'd you learn today?

- And if you're lucky enough to have found it, you should protect and cherish it like your most prized possession.

Have you ever seen a firewood-chopping robot?

Well, now you have.

And while he can chop more than just firewood, his Jenga skills are severely lacking.

- Welcome to your least boring summer ever, AKA Camp CrunchLabs.

What the heck is Camp CrunchLabs, you ask?

Well, it's a 12-week virtual summer camp featuring weekly videos with mega experiments that I do and then weekly super challenges that you do, and the best weekly challenge the whole summer will get a platinum ticket to come out here with me to film the final video where the mega experiment is so big, I'm only 20% sure that this roof is going to survive.

(objects banging) On top of that, usually the CrunchLabs Build Boxes where we build a really fun toy together and where I teach you all the juicy physics of how they work comes every month, - Yes.

- but to coincide with the Camp CrunchLabs weekly challenges and videos, we can ship them to you every week for 12 weeks straight.

So, don't spend summer super bored, forgetting everything you learned in school last year and instead, come to Camp CrunchLabs, where you'll have a blast, (upbeat music) growing your brain in delightful ways as you challenge yourself and learn to think like an engineer.

Now, if you're already a CrunchLabs subscriber, don't worry.

You get all this for free, but if you haven't somehow subscribed yet, then this is the perfect chance to visit CampCrunchLabs.com or use the link of the video description to reserve one of the limited spots, and I'll see you at summer camp.