Flippers

Every ball drains. It rolls down between the guides and out of the bottom, and nothing can stop it.

A lever

A flipper is a lever spun about a pivot at its outer end. Every point on it turns at the same rate, ω, so the tip moves fastest, at ω·L. Our bats are 2.6 long and turn at 38 radians a second:

tip speed      38 rad/s × 2.6           = 98.8 u/s    3.2 m/s at full scale
one flip       1.02 rad ÷ 38 rad/s      = 0.027 s     1.6 frames at 60 fps
per step       98.8 u/s ÷ 240 steps/s   = 0.41 u      ball radius 0.42

A whole flip takes under two frames. That's why the plunger set physics to 240 steps a second last lesson: take the plunger out and the flippers lose those small steps. At 240 Hz the tip moves 0.41 units a step, a hair under the ball's radius. Later this lesson the bat's collider gets fatter too. Small steps and a fat collider both help keep the tip from jumping past the ball, and neither one alone is a promise.