In today’s game, we have a seemingly endless arsenal of tools that can be used to evaluate players. Since 2015, Statcast data has been available to the public via BaseballSavant.com, allowing us to monitor things like launch angle, sprint speed and exit velocity from our living rooms.
In particular, launch angle and exit velocity are all the rage in today’s home run driven climate. Both metrics are common place in MLB clubhouses, broadcasts and even casual fan discussions.
Each of them is fairly straightforward to understand:
Exit Velocity= Velocity of the ball off the bat
Launch Angle = The vertical angle (degrees) of the ball’s path as it leaves the bat
It’s not hard to figure out why these metrics are so important.