It has become the great cliche in sports, an unquestionable absolute - that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do. But why?

People talk about the roundness of both ball & bat. But the ball's spherical nature allows it to be thrown in a straight line, and the bat's roundness makes it easier to hold. Besides, on contact, the ball compresses into the curvature of the bat. All the roundness does is make it harder to send the ball exactly where you want it to go - at the right angle and elevation. Although those rotating seams do change the drag on the ball and cause it to move.

Does that mean hitting is just physics?  No. The reason hitting is hard, and why teaching effective hitting mechanics is difficult, is not about physics, it's more about us. It's because of timing, hand-eye coordination, and how we, as hitters, fool ourselves by guessing wrong about what pitch is coming and where in the zone it will end up. That lack of predictability makes hitting a challenge. Plus of course, all the mis-instruction that has made the rounds (see swing theories).

Now that the 2009 WebBall Hitting Challenge is complete and the results are posted it's time for the next big debate on hitting - how best to hit the toughest pitches. This time we aren't starting with the experts, we're starting with you...  Conquering Tough Pitches - Vote Now