MLB's Fascination with Launch Angle and Exit Velocity

In a sport ruled by statistics, two brand new stats, exit velocity and launch angle, have fascinated sabermetricians. The MLB Statcast system, which uses radar equipment and high definition cameras, measures velocities and launch angles of every in-play batted ball as well as speeds of various fielders. The MLB Statcast system, which was launched last season, is being used by hitters around the league to efficiently predict the results of their swings.

The Effects of Statcast on Hitting



Coaches around the leagues are using the launch angle and exit velocity to gauge various hitters. A hitter who averages a high launch angle will usually pop out, while a hitter averaging an unusually low launch angle will tend to ground out. What coaches look for in a swing is a launch angle around 25 degrees and a high exit velocity. The New York Yankees', Aaron Judge, who averaged a launch angle of 16 degrees, throughout the season, and an exit velocity of 95 mph, is an example of having the perfect swing. Aaron Judge, not so surprisingly, hit 52 homeruns breaking the record for homeruns hit by a rookie and came second in total homeruns in all of the MLB.




The MLB Statcast system provides coaches, players and fans information that gives insight into the physics in baseball. Hitting a baseball is extremely precise, so by using launch angle and exit velocity, one can accurately determine the outcome of a batted ball. It is not a coinscidence that the first year after the Statcast system came out, there were the most homeruns hit since the era of PED's. Using the same kinematic equations we use in class, MLB hitters take advantage of the MLB Statcast system and accurately predict how long and how far the ball will travel.



Albert , Jim. “Relationship between Exit Velocity, Launch Angle, and Probability of Hit.” Exploring Baseball Data with R, 22 Aug. 2016

Author, Rob. “The New Science Of Hitting.” FiveThirtyEight, FiveThirtyEight, 18 Aug. 2016.   

Casella, Paul. “Statcast Primer: Baseball Will Never Be the Same.” Major League Baseball, 24 Apr. 2015.