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Ahead of the Curve: Freshman pitcher uses interest in mathematics, physics to hone his throwing style

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Meet Doogie Houser, Trevor Bauer, Pitching Physicist. For Bauer, the impressive numbers go beyond the diamond. Bauer the student made honor roll last quarter. "He admits that when he’s not gripping a baseball, he loves solving mathematical equations – especially those that involve the game he started playing in his backyard as soon as he learned to walk. "I look at pitching mechanics and try to analyze them in a physics way," he said. "For example, the longer the lever arm and the faster it’s moving, the higher the velocity is on the end of it." The moment of inertia, which measures an object’s resistance to changes in its rotation rate, is also among the many variables that Bauer examines. Oftentimes, Bauer ponders whether he can make a pitch break down and in, as opposed to away from right-handed batters by simply shifting his arm’s axis of rotation. "Stuff like that helps me get the ball where I want it to go and make it move how I want it to move," he said.

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