Whether a ball hops or not will always be up for debate. The fact remains it can still be going up as it gets to the plate, and is most effective if released low. The eye and the mind have , in some cases, less than .40 of a second to decide if it is just a fast ball or not. If I can throw a ball underhand over the backstop, it was still going up as it crossed the plate. Pitchers can ,at least, throw a "slant" ball the does the same. I think the backwards spin may help the ball not drop as much. It may be an optical illusion, but Smith, Hillhouse and Marstellers ball all seem to hop. All three insist they do. I have caught Marsteller and it sure seems to hop. Whether it actually does or not, I don`t know. By the way, a baseball has a totally different size, weight, and stitch size as a softball has. Not a great comparison by mythbusters. Not saying it hops, just saying when thrown properly, it sure looks as if it does.