CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The Guardians fell short to the White Sox in Game 2 of the divisional round Monday night. So did Jo Adell’s eighth-inning would-be home run, which died at the 410-foot wall.
Adell hit the ball 413 feet.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said the team was hoping the ball would clear the wall.
“You’re kind of blowing, hoping it gets over the wall, but it was good to see him get one out there. We just fell short,” Vogt said.
“He hit that ball well, but at night with the air the way it is… that’s a deep part of the park, that’s big boy territory,” Vogt said.
What the cold air did to the ball
Cleveland physicist Dr. Peter Menge explained the effect of temperature on air density.
“Warm air is less dense than cold air,” Menge said.
“When it’s say, 80 degrees versus 50 degrees, the air will be 6% less dense at 80 degrees than 50 degrees. That means that the drag on the ball, the force of the air that is slowing the ball down, would be 6% greater at 50 degrees than at 80 degrees,” Menge said.
Menge said there is a rule of thumb for how far temperature affects a ball’s flight.
“It’s three to four feet for every ten degrees. So it would travel 9-12 feet farther if the temperature were 80 degrees than if it were 50 degrees,” Menge said.
Adell reflects on the series
Adell said the series has come down to moments the Guardians have not had.
“I guess it’s just kind of the way the game is. Those moments show up, and for us in this series so far we haven’t gotten that one moment to put us over the edge. And they have,” Adell said.
The Guardians play the White Sox Wednesday at 4 p.m. eastern in Chicago.
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