What We Found When X-Raying Some MLB Baseballs
A cool article, laid out to be readily understandable for everyone.<p>Missing from the discussion, though, is a description of the change in the moment of inertia. If the ball's mass distribution has shifted radially, the moment of inertia can change significantly.<p>Spin matters very much to the aerodynamics of baseballs. A change in the moment of inertia could have a substantial impact (positive or negative) on the flight characteristics as the ball reaches the batter, the mechanics of the ball/bat interaction (particularly as relates to the spin of the ball leaving the bat), and the outbound trajectory. A lower-moment ball will spin faster initially, but slow its rotation rate more quickly, making any prediction of the overall effect of a change in moment of inertia difficult indeed.