In the top of the 9th of the World Series game 2, bases loaded, 2 outs, Jose Trevino swung at the first pitch and it was a flyout to center. However, when he hit that ball, a friend sent a message in a chat group and thought that it was a grand slam.
Well, it wasn’t a grand slam. Nonetheless, that pitch was in the strike zone and it was hit hard. As the data was shown, it was a hard hit with an exit velocity of 95 mph and a launch angle of 32 degrees. It traveled 345 feet. While watching the highlight of the World Series game 2, I began to think whether this could be a home run at some stadiums.
To understand a little bit more, I decided to check on the statcast website.
During the regular season, no home runs were hit with an exit velocity of 95 mph and a launch angle of 32 degrees. Nonetheless, there were actually some home runs which were hit with an exit velocity of 95 mph.
So, during the regular season, there were 9 home runs that were hit with an exit velocity of 95 mph. The launch angle of those home runs fell between 29 degrees and 38 degrees. Wilyer Abreu and Juan Yepez each crushed a home run with an exit velocity of 95 mph and a launch angle of 29 degrees. Abreu’s home run traveled a little bit further. Meanwhile, Daulton Varsho smashed a home run with an exit velocity of 95 mph and a launch angle of 38 degrees. That ball traveled 352 feet.
Nonetheless, two home runs didn’t travel that much with a projected distance below 350 feet. Cedric Mullins smashed a home run in mid-April and that home run’s projected distance was 345 feet, which is the same as that flyball that Jose Trevino hit.
In the meantime, I was just thinking which players did crush many home runs with a launch angle of 30 degrees or higher. And the results weren’t so surprising. Aaron Judge led the majors with 58 home runs in 2024. Among those 58 home runs, 34 were hit with a launch angle of 30 degrees or higher. Interestingly, Judge blasted 3 home runs with a launch angle of 40 degrees or higher. At the same time, Shohei Ohtani smashed 54 home runs in 2024. Among those 54 home runs, 20 were hit with a launch angle of 30 degrees or higher. Moreover, Marcell Ozuna had 20 home runs with a launch angle of 30 degrees or higher.
So, it’s possible to see a home run with an exit velocity of 95 mph and a launch angle of 30+ degrees. Nonetheless, as we can see, those home runs didn’t travel that much, normally the distance of those home runs was below 360 feet. Nevertheless, home runs with a launch angle over 30 degrees did happen a lot. Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani did smash many home runs with a launch angle over 30 degrees.
No comments:
Post a Comment