Why MLB Hitters Are Suddenly Obsessed With Launch Angles

If you’ve spent any time following the MLB, you’ve probably heard the term launch angle thrown around. Have you ever found yourself wondering what it means?

After the bat strikes the ball, the ball leaves the bat at a certain angle and velocity. Launch angle refers to the angle at which the ball leaves the bat. 

In sports betting, the launch angle tells you the batter’s tendencies. Knowing these tendencies will help you make an informed decision as you place bets.

The launch angle can also inform players about their own game and improve it for their managers and fans. 

Importance of the Launch Angle

Launch angles have always been a part of hitting in baseball. Figuring the launch angle can tell a hitter where the ball will go and how fast it will get there. It can also tell managers and batting coaches what their hitters need to improve in their game. Visit this article to know more on improving overall health for a better game.

While launch angles have always been an essential part of baseball, its popularity in conversation and betting has only been a recent development. 

With more extensive statistical tracking and the creation of software that measures such stats, it is profitable to understand the game’s finer points—like launch angles. 

What Do Launch Angles Tell You?

Predominantly, the launch angle tells you where the ball will land in the field. On average, most baseballs have a range from -20 degrees to 60. 

For perspective, a ball with a range of -90 degrees hits off home plate. A ball with a range of 90 degrees pops up to the catcher. 

All hits fall within this range. 

The launch angle tells you what a hitter tends to do when he’s up to bat. Whether he manages to hit fly balls or grounders, line drives, or pop-ups, the launch angle will indicate what his habits are. 

This information allows you to see if a hitter is more likely to hit a fly-ball, making him more prone to hitting runs than those who hit grounders. 

What Do Launch Angles Tell Hitters?

The information about launch angles also helps hitters work on their swings and averages. A launch angle that has a high average indicates a hitter who tends towards fly-balls, and a low average would suggest the opposite: a hitter who tends towards grounders. 

In many cases, it seems like hitters are adjusting their swings to hit the ball higher and farther. The high average launch angle that sends the fly-ball through the air appears as the magic swing that hitters want. 

As launch angles become a more prominent feature within the realm of baseball statistics, hitters are looking for ways to hyper-analyze their swings and adjust to higher averages.

Launch angles have allowed hitters and their coaches to adjust swings properly. The more they learn, the easier it becomes to control where the ball goes. 

Some of the best hitters in the league can send the ball in virtually any direction they want. They’ve practiced their adjustments so much that they know precisely where they need to swing to get the ball to the stands. 

Knowing where the bat needs to meet the ball is critical to controlling the launch angle as much as possible. With this information, hitters are working tirelessly to get the ball to go where they want with every swing.

Does the Launch Angle Ruin Baseball?

Because of the more analytical and controlled nature of incorporating strategies like launch angle, some old-school lovers of the game might be worried that baseball won’t be the same. With all these changes, won’t the game become boring and predictable?

Launch angle gets blamed for many inexplicable things in baseball, such as lower batting averages amongst hitters. 

But understanding the launch angle and using that information to optimize the game does not ruin anything. Even with hitters working on hitting more fly-balls than grounders, many still hit grounders more often than not.

The launch angle obsession has less to do with making the game boring and more to do with helping players and coaches understand baseball better. The hitters have something tangible to focus on with launch angles when they swing. 

Launch angles are not ruining baseball. If anything, they’re making it more fun.

Why MLB Hitters Are Suddenly Obsessed With Launch Angles? Final Thoughts

The truth is, launch angles have always been around. They’ve only recently become of higher consideration, but they’ve always been an essential part of the game.

MLB hitters are thinking about launch angles more now because technology makes it possible to do so. And the more improvements they can make to their swing, the better they’ll play.