Pokemon and Baseball: What to make of this weird combination?

Pokemon. One of the biggest video games franchises in the world, Pokemon has won the hearts of thousands of people around the world and still continues to have success even after its first game came out in 1996. While the main games are the main attraction of the Pokemon franchise, there are also many other outlets that Pokemon has branched off to: TV, card games, mobile apps, and even personal hygiene. While we could go on about the Pokemon franchise forever, I want to focus on a specific episode of the Pokemon anime: Pokemon Sun and Moon Episode 28 Pulling Out the Pokemon Base Pepper! This specific episode sticks out since the players in this episode play baseball, and since this website is all about analyzing baseball, we are going to analyze some of the plays that some of these players have done and see whether these plays are realistic or not. And if this did happen in real life, how successful would these players do in the real world?

The dimensions

Before anything, we must be able to find the dimensions of the field or else everything else that we do is irrelevant. However, this ended up being much harder than you think it is. This is due to the fact that the image of the field is constantly changing. For example, take a look at the pictures below.

As seen with the pictures above, the exact length of the home plate is extremely hard to find since the size of the home plate keeps changing. With such variance, using one reference point could potentially skew the measurements of other areas such as the distance between home plate and first base and the distance between first base and third base. In addition, there is no way to find the exact dimension of home plate without having a strong reference point. In other words, we need to know the dimensions of at least one person or Pokemon in this episode and use his/her/its length in order to find the exact measurement of the field. We do not want to assume that these anime characters play in a Ruth league field or a Little League field, so we need to find a reference point for us to mention.

Luckily, there is one such image where we fix both of the problems mentioned in the previous paragraph. Take a look at the image below now.

This image gives us our best chance at measuring the dimensions of the field since we now have a reliable reference point to find the measurements of the batter box. Our reference point, Wobbuffet, will be the most reliable reference point for our measurement of the dimensions of the field as his entire body height covers over the length of the batter box, meaning that the height of Wobbuffet is also the length of the batter box. In addition, for all of the upcoming measurements that we are going to do for the players, this picture works the best since the size of home plate is not exaggerated or super large (like in other photos). According to Bulbapedia, an encyclopedia for Pokemon, Wobbuffet is 4’ 03’’, meaning that the length of the batter box is also about 4’03” as well. This is important to note, as this measurement is going to be used quite frequently in order to find the distance between 1st base and home plate, and between 3rd base and 1st base.

Now that we have our dimensions for the length of the home plate, we can use this to find the distance of the entire field.

(We are going to do multiple measurements of the field from multiple pictures and take the average of those since I believe that by taking multiple measurements, we are going to have the most reliable data on the dimensions of the field).

Case 1:

As seen with this top-down view of the Pokemon baseball field, we can use proportions in order to find the dimensions of the field, specifically the distance from home plate to first base. Measuring the length using a computer ruler, the length of home plate is about 5 cm and the distance between home plate and 1st base is about 55 cm. Setting up a proportion and using math, we can find that the distance between home plate and 1st base is about 561 inches or 46.75 feet.

(Important note: I know that I could measure the distance between home plate and 3rd base and use that for dimensions, but in every baseball field, the distance from home plate to 1st and 3rd base is the same, so I am going to assume that the distance between first base and home plate is the same distance as third base and home plate. The reason that I used the measured distance between home plate and first base is that it is smaller than the measured distance between third base and home plate, making our calculations more conservative).

The same method can also be used with the distance between 1st base and 3rd base, in which the distance between 1st base and 3rd base is about 68 feet since the measured distance between 1st base and 3rd base is about 80 cm (using the computer ruler).

In addition, we can also find the distance between home plate and the pitcher mound, using the length of the batter box as our reference point. In this case, the measurement from the center of home plate to the pitcher mound is about 49 cm. Scaling this, the distance from the pitcher mound to home plate is about 499.8 inches or 41.65 feet.

Case 2:

Looking at our second picture, we can use proportions and the length of the batter box in order to find the dimensions of the baseball field. The measured distance of the length of the batter box is about 4 cm, which still equals the height of Wobbuffet (4’03”). Setting up the proportions and measuring the distance between home plate and first base (which is about 31 cm using a ruler), the distance from home plate to first base from this perspective is about 33 ft. Using similar logic, we can see that the distance between first base and third base is about 45.69 ft and the distance from the pitcher mound to home plate is about 14.875 ft.

Case 3:

Similar to the last two sections, we use the reference point as the length of the batter box in order to find the dimensions of the whole field. Doing so will give us 32.58 feet (between first base and home plate), 57.38 ft (between 1st and 3rd base), and 14.17 ft (between the pitcher mound and home plate).

Finding the average of all three measurements, we come with the following results:

Distance between Home plate and Pitcher Mound: 23.565 ft

Distance between 1st base and home plate (3rd base and home plate): 37.44 ft

Distance between 1st base and 3rd base: 57.02 ft

Now that we have finished the dimensions, let’s take a look at a few players and see whether they could go pro or not.

Kiawe’s Inferno Overdrive

One of the most prominent aspects of this episode comes up when Kiawe uses his signature Inferno Overdrive fastball. In fact, this was the very first pitch that he threw to Ash when they played a game together. Of course, this fastball is very fast, but just how fast is it? Using our previous measurements and some assumptions, we can find the velocity of his fastball as it covers over home plate and whether Ash has any chance of hitting the ball.

(Note, this is all speculation. I am not exactly sure of how fast that the fastball is going and this is my estimation of what it is. Granted, you might have a different answer from the one I have).

Here are the two pictures that showcase Kiawe’s fastball.

Pic 1

Pic 2

Once again, using the length of the batter box as the reference point for the distance in this shot, we can calculate Kiawe’s speed when he throws the fastball. Since we have two pictures above, we can take the average of both of the velocities in both pictures to get the speed of Kiawe’s fastball. Before we continue, there are two major assumptions that I am going to make before we start. For one thing, let’s assume that the real world time goes the same as the time in the Pokemon world. In other words, one second here is one second in the Pokemon world. This is because it is nearly impossible to figure out the FPS (Frames per Seconds) for the video, so we are going to assume that the Pokemon world has the equivalent time as that of the real world. The second assumption that we are going to make is that the thickest part of the beam is where the ball is. The thinnest part would not make sense because the ball is not that small to cover a radius that small, so the thickest part of the beam would be where the ball is located. Another reason that I think that the ball is in the thickest part of the beam is that in the very next frame, the beam is now super thin and the ball in the catcher’s glove. This is highly indicative that the thickest part of the beam is where the ball is located.

In picture 1, the length of the batter box is about 72 cm and the distance from the ball to the glove (assuming that the ball is the thickest part of the beam) is about 66 cm using the computer ruler. Scaling this, the ball approximately traveled 43.7 in and the speed of the ball would have been 364 ft/sec (or 248.18 mph).

In picture 2, the length of Kiawe’s fastball is about 74 cm and the distance from the ball to the glove is about 70 cm using the computer ruler. Scaling this, the ball approximately traveled 4 ft in 0.01 seconds, so the speed of the ball would have been 402 ft/sec (or 274.09 mph).

Averaging the two, the velocity of Kiawe’s fastball is about 261.135 MPH, which is absolutely absurd. Factoring in the distance from the pitcher mount to home plate, hitters have only 61 milliseconds to respond to this. To put this in perspective, players in the MLB have about 450 milliseconds to respond to a pitch. Including the time that it takes for them to swing (about 150 milliseconds), and you can see how this pitch is nearly unhittable even for the pro players.

Even with air resistance included, Kiawe’s fastball would have been so fast that no hitter could possibly adjust to the speed unless he/she swings before the pitcher even threw the fastball. I mean if this happened in real life, we would be looking at the next “Aroldis Chapman”, but even that would not be a fitting title for Kiawe since he would throw everything much faster than Aroldis Chapman. Instead of a Pokemon job, Kiawe should be looking for a job in baseball.

Lana’s Home Run

As if Kiawe’s fastball was not fast enough, what’s even more outstanding is that someone hit Kiawe’s fastball. Her name is Lana and she is one of the students in the school that Ash goes to. Going against Kiawe and his devastating Inferno Overdrive fastball, Lana manages to hit the ball with the worst batting stance anyone should have. But since she demolished the ball, I think it is okay to say that she can use this terrible hitting stance since results speak for themselves.

The resulting hit was a home run, meaning that not only did she have inhuman reaction time (below 61 milliseconds!), but she crushed the baseball so far that she hit it out of the park.

For some calculations, we are going to evaluate the exit velocity when the ball was hit and the maximum distance that this ball could have gone. For this section, we are not going to dismiss gravity, but we are going to dismiss air resistance as we do not know the drag constant in this field.

Assuming an elastic conversion of energy, the velocity of the baseball would have been the same when it left the bat as it traveled over the plate (because energy is conserved when the ball was hit), so the velocity of the baseball is about 261 MPH when it left Lana’s bat. The maximum distance that a baseball can travel is when the ball is hit at 45 degrees, so the maximum distance that the ball travels is about 4554 ft. To put this in perspective, the average MLB home run distance is about 400 ft, so Lana, the person who hit the baseball in the picture above, hit the baseball more than 10X further than that of professional players. And this is assuming that the hit was elastic. She could have hit it even further if the exit velocity from her bat was not the speed of the pitch. For most home runs in the MLB, the exit velocity is higher than the speed of the actual pitch, so it would be safe to assume that Lana would have a higher exit velocity than what was actually said here. If she had the reaction time to even hit the ball, players and coaches would actually brawl against each other in order to recruit her. Her inhuman ability can make her compete in the leagues of Kiawe and other phenomenal baseball players. She would probably be a number #1-#10 pick quickly, getting offers not only from the MLB, but also from colleges and high schools.

Lana’s Fielding

Although we are still examining the same player in this section, we are going to examine a fielding play from Lana now rather than a hitting play. So we have new things to measure and compare before we can truly marvel at the speeds these games are being played at. During one inning, one of the players from the other team hit a ground ball to the third baseman, who happened to be Lana. Noting this, we can use measurements and some mathematics to calculate the speed that Lana throws the ball to the first baseman in order to get the out.

(We are going to assume that the baseball reaches Lana right as the runner is starting to run. This is because we do not know the exit velocity that the ball was hit and the speed of the baseball could also fluctuate due to its interactions with the ground and friction. In addition, by doing this, it will give us a lower speed than what actually happened, so we can know just how good Lana is at fielding).

Assuming that the hitter is running an average speed to first base, the hitter is running about 24.301 feet/sec. Factoring in the distance from home plate to first base, it takes about 1.54 seconds for the hitter to get to first base. Knowing the distance between first base and third base (57.02 ft), we can see that Lana had to throw at least 37.03 ft/sec (or 25.245 MPH). That's extremely slow, even by 10 year old players. Despite the fact that our player in question Lana can hit balls unhittable even to the greatest hitters, her fielding ability would no way be allowed in the MLB or any professional league. If she were to join the MLB, she would only play as the DH and not get any value from defense.

This truly unique and unorthodox combination of Pokemon and baseball is something truly fun to see, and analyzing some of the players here is even more enjoyable than just watching. I am pretty sure that we are analyzing baseball in Pokemon way too closely, but this was something fun and enjoyable for me to do. I might not make another one of these unless I see another crossover between anime and Pokemon, and I would still like to focus more on MLB players and their incredible feats.