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

[standingwave]

LOL!

After about 70 nanoseconds the ball arrives at home plate. The batter hasn’t even seen the pitcher let go of the ball, since the light carrying that information arrives at about the same time the ball does. Collisions with the air have eaten the ball away almost completely, and it is now a bullet-shaped cloud of expanding plasma (mainly carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen) ramming into the air and triggering more fusion as it goes. The shell of x-rays hits the batter first, and a handful of nanoseconds later the debris cloud hits.

http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/

[Der_Trihs]

“OK, Superman? This is why no one wants to play baseball with you.”

[RalfCoder]

I was going to say that the bat would probably break no matter if the trademark was up or not, but I like this version better.

And I like the rule interpretation, too!

[kayaker]

I’d imagine pitcher shoulder and elbow injuries would increase.

[Snarky_Kong]

The energy of the baseball is almost exactly a megaton. Huh.

[Dewey_Finn]

Something similar happened in one of Isaac Asimov’s short stories, except that it was a billiard ball. As I remember the story, it made a neat hole in the chest of the person who was in its way.

[running_coach]

@Dewey_Finn

Something similar happened in one of Isaac Asimov’s short stories, except that it was a billiard ball. As I remember the story, it made a neat hole in the chest of the person who was in its way.

And there was no earth shattering kaboom.

[Anne_Neville]

@kayaker

I’d imagine pitcher shoulder and elbow injuries would increase.

No, the incidence of pitchers being vaporized would increase. I don’t think you’d notice if you had a shoulder or elbow injury under those circumstances.

[standingwave]

@Der_Trihs

“OK, Superman? This is why no one wants to play baseball with you.”

Or have sex. (Larry Niven’s classic essay, detailing the problems (physics, biology, etc.) Superman faces trying to reproduce with a human “designated LL for convenience.”) Poor LL.

[AHunter3]

I like this bit at the end:

A careful reading of official Major League Baseball Rule 6.08(b) suggests that in this situation, the batter would be considered “hit by pitch”, and would be eligible to advance to first base.

[Czarcasm]

@AHunter3

I like this bit at the end:

Might as well scatter the ashes there as anywhere else.

[kayaker]

You just know the next pitch would be a change-up, right?

[Boozahol_Squid_P.I]

@AHunter3

I like this bit at the end:

Randall’s wrong there, by the way. The batter would, by Munroe’s own calculations, not be hit by the pitch. He would have stepped out of the batter’s box, although given that the ball wouldn’t actually make it across the plate (there not being a plate by the time the ball got there,) it would properly be called a ball.

[Othersider]

Excellent. The funniest thing was the postscript.

[ShibbOleth]

@kayaker

You just know the next pitch would be a change-up, right?

Well played!

[Ethilrist]

Signal from catcher: “NOT THE FASTBALL!!!”

[President_Johnny_Gentle]

@Boozahol_Squid_P.I

Randall’s wrong there, by the way. The batter would, by Munroe’s own calculations, not be hit by the pitch. He would have stepped out of the batter’s box, although given that the ball wouldn’t actually make it across the plate (there not being a plate by the time the ball got there,) it would properly be called a ball.

However, see Rule 6.02(d)(1):

[QUOTE=MLB Rules]

The batter shall keep at least one foot in the batter’s box throughout the batter’s time at bat, unless one of the following exceptions applies, in which case the batter may leave the batter’s box but not the dirt area surrounding home plate:
(ii) The batter is forced out of the batter’s box by a pitch;

[/QUOTE]

There’s no denying that the batter is forced out of the batter’s box by the pitch. I believe that a properly situated umpire (presumably in the reinforced bunkers hundreds of miles away that were designed for the Disaster Area concert the previous month) would have to award first base.

[Mr.Miskatonic]

“unsuspecting batter” - tee hee!

[Boozahol_Squid_P.I]

@President_Johnny_Gentle

There’s no denying that the batter is forced out of the batter’s box by the pitch. I believe that a properly situated umpire (presumably in the reinforced bunkers hundreds of miles away that were designed for the Disaster Area concert the previous month) would have to award first base.

See it yourself! The batter is certainly going to leave the dirt circle around home plate.

I do think that the crooning tones of Hotblack Desiato would be the perfect walk-up song for our .9c pitcher.

[President_Johnny_Gentle]

@Boozahol_Squid_P.I

See it yourself! The batter is certainly going to leave the dirt circle around home plate.

I must disagree. The dirt circle will obviously be travelling with the batter, so he won’t be leaving it.