Dr. Lyman J. Briggs, 84, is director emeritus of the National Bureau of Standards. He is also a longtime baseball fan. His scientific mind was drawn to the great curve-ball controversy. How much does the ball curveĀif at all? This week Dr. Briggs made his answers. The ball curves all right, and the biggest jug handle a pitcher can expect to throw is 17.5 in. Ideal curving speed: about 100 ft. per sec. Optimum amount of spin: some 1,800 r.p.m. But, Dr. Briggs adds, ''the speed of the pitched ball has little effect on the amount it curves. The important thing...
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