What We Found When X-Raying Some MLB Baseballs
A cool article, laid out to be readily understandable for everyone.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.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.