re: LSU Hitting Stats Thru 4 Games

Nobody got drug. This is a pillow fight.

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Yes but it has become a focal point of hitting theory. Everyone is trying to increase their launch angle to hit homers

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no, they arent. this is what so many do not understand about Exit velocity and launch angle. they are trying to hit the ball at an angle that is most conducive to hit a hard line drive. now, depending on the type of power a guy has and pitch location, sure they will try to get it in the 25-30 degree launch angle.

the batting avg is highest at 13 degrees and from 6-25 the batting average is over 500. so why would you not try and hit the ball at an angle that allows you the best chance at a base hit?

not to mention, the average incoming angle of the pitch in mlb is 7-8 degrees. having an attack angle matching that and early barrel allows a hitter to stay in the zone aka "time in zone" measurement. We have data that shows this too and the averages based on that

then we come to exit velo...we know that like pitching velocity, the higher the better. AKA if you hit the ball 99mph or higher, you have a 40% chance at a base hit. The difference in just 9 mph, 90 vs 99 is a 20.1% less chance of a hit at 90mph aka a batting average of .204 vs .405.

so again, i ask....why would we not teach hitters to

1) attack the ball at the angle it is incoming to increase time in zone

2) hit at an angle conducive to base hits and on power hitters...extra base hits

3) hit the ball hard


????

Why would it not be the focal point of hitting theory?


same goes for pitching and people complaining about only caring about velo....well yea because as velocity increases, batting average decreases.

people like to bring up maddux without realizing he has said himself the only reason he got a shot was because he was 95 coming into the league. also not understanding he is a once in a multi-generation player.

why were nolan ryan and randy johnson so successful....because the two had the highest velo vs league avg.

We were literally talking about this in our group chat and you had already agreed that the catchers were pretty set in their roles.

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The knock (and probably has some validity) is that he feasts on fastballs and can't hit the offspeed.

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The knock was that he expands his zone from box to box.

He homered off of pitches other than fastballs last year. The issue he had was pitch recognition in general and it bit him in the arse hard against SEC pitching.

This weekend was good to see, but I still stand by what I said earlier in that we won't know anything about Jones' improvements until he gets a couple SEC weekends under his belt.

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some of yall dont know shite about hitting or pitching and the stats that matter. too stuck in the old age of just hit the ball on the ground. which is fine if there are runners on base and you can move them, otherwise its a fricking waste of an at bat at a high level. that may have worked for you in high school at ole thib high....but it doesnt work at even the higher levels of HS baseball, much less in the SEC.

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An underrated baseball viewing experience is watching a dude clearly roll over on a pitch but still find a hole for a single and hearing some old guy exclaim how "that's just good baseball right there"

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The walk that he took against VMI in game 1 (despite it being in the middle of a lot of bad pitches to other batters), was more encouraging to me than the HRs.

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I had a working theory that he had been instructed this season to not swing until after he takes a strike. Felt really good about the theory, but then he had an AB where he swung first pitch yesterday.

He did seem more selective this weekend.

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yep....you do not know baseball. its actually the opposite. good try though.

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Took longer than usual.


So taking into account all that you've said, you're either wrong or baseball is being taught wrong. If we aren't focusing on LA for homers but to increase all hard hit balls which lead to xbh, then why are homers up but singles, doubles and slugging all down at the major league level over the last 20 years?

I posted a link a few pages back. You should probably have a look.

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An underrated baseball viewing experience is watching a dude clearly roll over on a pitch but still find a hole for a single and hearing some old guy exclaim how "that's just good baseball right there"

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yep....right there with the guy screaming...just throw strikes...like the pitcher is thinking... "I should just throw balls"

the lack of comprehension of so many on these theories and why they matter is astonishing, but not surprising considering so many were taught to swing down on the ball.

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The shift explains a lot of that. Not all of it, but a lot of it.

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The pitching revolution over the last decade does too.

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considering so many were taught to swing down on the ball.

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I like the people who rail against launch angle as if it's anything more than a measurement.

And the people that think swinging with a bat path that spends more time in the zone and leads to better outcomes (as measured by launch angle) is some new idea.

Ted Williams literally wrote the book on this stuff in the 60s.