In mid-March, the Cubs played exhibition games at Tokyo Dome to prepare for the Opening Series. In an exhibition game, Seiya Suzuki hit a ball hard with an exit velocity over 110 mph. And the launch angle wasn’t bad. However, that ball didn’t travel far with a distance below 350 feet.
I watched the game on TV and after the game, I was just wondering if something similar happened previously. To understand a little bit more, I decided to check on the statcast website.
Looking back at the stats from 2015 to 2024, there were 72 batted balls with an exit velocity of at least 110 mph, a launch angle between 20 degrees and 30 degrees and projected distance below 350 feet. Most of those batted balls happened over the last 4 seasons. From 2021 to 2024, there were at least 10 batted balls each season.
In addition, let’s take a look at which players had faced the events most often. Well, Joey Gallo announced that he will continue his baseball career as a pitcher in March. Gallo made it into the big leagues in 2015. From 2015 to 2024, there were 4 times that he hit a ball hard with an exit velocity of 110+ mph and a launch angle of 20+ degrees. However, those balls didn’t travel far with a projected distance below 350 feet. Two of those 4 batted balls were outs. Meanwhile, 6 players each faced the similar situation 2 times.
Finally, let’s look at some events that looked interesting. On July 7th, 2018, Juan Soto hit a ball hard with an exit velocity of 110 mph and the launch angle was 20 degrees. However, that ball only traveled 290 feet. It was a double. Additionally, last season, Shohei Ohtani hit a ball with an exit velocity of 110 mph and a launch angle of 21 degrees. The ball traveled 301 feet and became a double. Moreover, another MVP faced similar events twice. In 2017, Aaron Judge used to hit a ball hard with an exit velocity of 115 mph and a launch angle of 22 degrees. That ball traveled 306 feet and it was a double. Furthermore, in 2023, Judge hit a ball with an exit velocity of 114 mph and the launch angle of that batted ball was 20 degrees. That ball didn’t travel far, either. Its projected distance was 310 feet. Well, it was a single. And Joey Gallo’s case was quite interesting. In 2022, he hit a ball with an exit velocity of 112 mph and a launch angle of 22 degrees. That ball traveled 308 feet, but it was a flyout.
A ball with an exit velocity of 110+ mph means that the ball was hit very hard. A ball with a launch angle between 20 degrees and 30 degrees normally will become a line drive or fly ball. A hard-hit ball with a launch angle sweet spot will generate good results most of the time. Even though it didn’t become a home run, it would be at least a hit. However, sometimes, the outcomes aren’t great.
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