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Launch Angle Research Paper

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Understanding Launch Angle and Why Hitters are Employing It

Meta Description - A launch angle in baseball measures the vertical angle of the ball as it meets the bat. Launch angles range from under ten degrees for ground balls to 50 degrees or more for pop-ups. MLB statistics show that the best launch angles for batters are 19 to 26 degrees. These angles result in more hits and homers.

A launch angle, in baseball, is the vertical angle measurement of the ball when it leaves a player’s bat. These measurements vary depending on how hard the bat contacts the ball.

Analysts can figure out a hitter’s viability by averaging their launch angle from all his at-bats. However, launch angles are also used to discuss pitchers, and what type of contact the average batter can …show more content…

This classification was created by Tom Tango, a baseball and hockey statistical analyst.

A ball must have a speed of 98 mph (exit velocity) when it leaves the bat and any ball struck at that speed with a 26-30 degree launch angle is classified as barreled. The launch angle degree rises at speeds over 98 mph.

When the speed of the ball increases to 100 mph or more, the launch angle goes up by two or three degrees until there’s an exit velocity of 116 mph. At that point, a ball with a launch angle of eight to 50 degrees is classified as barreled.

Balls classified as barreled during the MLB’s 2016 season had a slugging percentage of 2.386 and an .822 batting average.

Softball Barrels

A batted ball in softball belongs is barreled when the exit velocity is 67 mph or more and the launch angle is between 20 and 38 degrees. Most softball fields have a fence that’s between 200 and 220 feet. When the fence is farther away, the ball needs to be hit harder and the launch angle has a smaller window of

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