Lifting the Ball

Wil Myers and Carlos Asuaje of the Padres speak with David Laurila about launch angles. Neither wants to hit the ball on the ground. Asuaje:

“It’s something I definitely focus on. Being a smaller guy doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. If you hit ground balls, you’re going to be out, especially at the major-league level. Guys don’t boot balls, they don’t throw poorly, and you’re not going to outrun the baseball. You have to play the odds, and the odds are that if you hit the ball in the air, you have a better chance to be successful.”

Asuje uses a number of baseball websites to study statistics on balls in the air versus balls on the ground. Here’s Myers:

“That said, I don’t want to hit the ball on the ground. It’s something I’ve worked on this year, especially off the tee. I want the ball in the air. I want good home-run trajectory on every swing I take off the tee. For me, working on hitting the ball out of the ballpark… that’s what I did in 2012 and 2013.”

…

“When I talk to Andy Green, it’s mostly things like, ‘Hey, here are some things you can improve on.’ Andy is really big into sabermetrics, though, which I like. It’s a huge part of the game now. There are a bunch of baseball players that don’t like that part of the game, but I think it’s great. I like the analytics — it’s a new side of the game we get to learn — but at the same time, I can’t be in the box thinking about how the ball is going to come off my bat. I keep things simple, and try to take my best swing.”

More and more players are using these deep statistical studies to their advantage.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2ltDVbH