The maximum Magnus force on a ball spinning at a rate of 1800 rpm is seen to be about one-third of the weight of the ball, so we cannot expect a ball spinning at that rate to curve more than one third of the distance it will fall under gravity.
Note that the ball falls at a rather large angle at the end of its flight; the trajectories are not symmetric.
Much of the subtlety of baseball is derived from the fact that so much of the game is played in the region between definitely smooth flow and definitely turbulent flow, at ball velocities greater than 50 mph and smaller than 120 mph.
Almost all of fluid dynamics follows from a differential equation called the Navier-Stokes equation. But this general equation has not, in practice, led to solutions of real problems of any complexity. In this sense, the curve of a baseball is not understood; the Navier-Stokes equation applied to a base ball has not been solved.
To hit a baseball with dispatch, one needs both to step into the ball and to rotate.
I knew what I had to do and my concentration was perfect. But I was so tired that I tried to hit the ball too hard.
"Wer glaubst du eigentlich, wer du bist, du blöder alter Furz. Schieb den Ball rüber oder es gibt was aufs Maul." - "Ich hör etwas schlecht, hab mir '74 mein Gehör auf nen Santana Konzert kaputt gemacht. Komm näher, dann versteh ich dich."
