Baseline Testing Part 2: Swing and Batted Ball Data
In my previous post, I discussed some of the assessments that we take our hitters through at the start of the fall season. Here, I will discuss some of the data that we collect on batted balls and the swing itself.
The next step of the baseline testing and assessment process is to get an idea of what our hitters’ swings look like and see what kind of exit velocities they can produce. To do so, we use a Rapsodo hitting unit and Blast Motion’s bat sensor. If a Rapsodo is unavailable to you, a simple radar gun can be used to gather exit velocities, but if it is in your budget, I highly recommend Rapsodo’s hitting unit, as it provides a plethora of useful data. Blast’s sensor, on the other hand, is an inexpensive tool that should be owned and used by all hitting coaches.
To obtain this information, we will have the guys come in small groups and take a few rounds of front toss. In the past we have used the tee for testing, but it is easy to manipulate one’s swing for the sake of high exit velocity when the ball is sitting still. After a couple rounds, we will have enough data to put together a basic baseline evaluation, which includes the following:
- Average exit velocity (Rapsodo): the hitter’s average of all batted balls in the session (our more consistent hitters are typically around or above 90 mph in front toss testing)
- Peak exit velocity (Rapsodo): the hardest ball hit in a session (we want our guys to be in the high 90s if not the 100s)
- Average launch angle (Rapsodo): tells us vertically where a hitter typically hits the ball (the ideal for this varies depending on peak exit velocity, but typically in the ballpark of 10–30º)
- Barrel number (Rapsodo and easy math): 90% of the hitter’s peak exit velocity (gives us an idea of when a ball is “barreled”)
- Average attack angle (Blast): gives us the angle the hitter’s bat is going at contact (5–15º is ideal, as the average fastball enters the zone around -6º, and the average breaking ball enters around -10º according to Blast Motion; this can vary from hitter to hitter based on their bat/exit speeds)
- Average time to contact (Blast): tells us how long it takes from the start of the swing to impact (.10 to .20 is ideal according to Blast Motion; our quickest guys are around .13)
- Average bat speed (Blast): tells us how fast the hitter is capable of moving the barrel of the bat (61–73 mph is ideal for college hitters according to Blast Motion; our fastest guys are in the low 70s)
- Average Blast factor (Blast): provides a weighted average of a number of Blast Motion metrics and gives a score from 0–100 (this isn’t so much for objective measurement as it is for promoting some competition)
The next step in the process is to collect video of the hitters, and for that we use Rapsodo’s camera function. This feature automatically cuts and slows down each swing while displaying the metrics on-screen.
Once all of this data is collected, we share it with the guys and talk with them about what it all means. It is important to individualize here and let each hitter know what they need to improve upon and how that can be accomplished. After all, what is the point of measuring all of this if you are not going to apply it?
It is also important to re-test regularly to track progress. If you want to master something, you need to measure it. We test exit velocity every two weeks and Blast metrics once per month. Each player will enter his results into their personal Google Drive tracking chart.
Moving forward, there are a ton of ways in which we can improve this process. After reading Driveline’s post about their hitter assessments (if you have not done so, please do), you can’t help but feel a little behind, but that is what makes them such a valuable resource. In the future, I would like to move away from a basic average exit velocity and move towards barrel consistency. In other words, focus more on how consistently they are hitting the ball hard, rather than how hard they are hitting the ball consistently. I would also like to delve deeper into the relationships between launch angles (both vertical and horizontal — where the ball is hit left to right) and exit velocities in order to better understand a hitter’s swing path, strengths, and weaknesses. Another concept I wish to better analyze is kinematic sequencing, which gives us the order in which a player moves his body throughout the swing. Knowledge of kinematic sequencing can help diagnose and repair a number of issues while providing us with a complete picture of a hitter’s swing.
With the current availability of technology and resources, there is no excuse to be left in the dark when it comes to gathering information that will help develop hitters. If you are a coach who is choosing to ignore the available data that is and will continue to change the game, you are doing a disservice to the players who trust you to help them become the best they can be. Baseball is moving quickly towards data, analytics, and information, while moving away from old-school ideologies and guesswork. So, if you are just trying to keep up, chances are, you’re behind.
