The Numerical Analysis of Baseball's Trajectory in Flight

Research has shown that in addition to gravitational force there are several different factors which contribute to the trajectory of a baseball in flight, such as wind and drag due to the air resistance. A numerical analysis based on the RK4 computational method was performed to predict a baseball’s trajectory, considering the drag factors acting on the baseball. Analysis resulted in a code which successfully produced a graph of a baseball’s trajectory for a given set of initial conditions. Video analysis was performed on a baseball shot out of a Jugg’s pitching machine to produce trajectory graphs in a simulated, real-life scenario. The graph produced by the video analysis was compared with the graph produced by the code to verify the reliability of the numerical analysis.