Posted by: t olson () on Mon Sep 17 20:13:57 2001

"""""ok, I've been outa baseball for a couple years and just started practicing again, and I did a little research. I found out a ball hit at a 45 degree angle will atain maximum distance. That's simple physics. """""

Actually, I don't think it's that simple. Video proves most power hitters (and indeed most hitters in general) swing in an arc that results in the barrel being below the hands at contact. The barrel is catching the ball at the point of a slight upswing on a pull hit.

This is especially true on inside and low pitches. A flatter plane is generally more indicative of a swing at an outside or high pitch.

So the question is 45 degrees in relationship to what? The relationship of barrel angle to ball at contact is on so many multiple planes that you must be more specific--although I'm not sure it really matters.

In my unscientific opinion, a hit to the batter's pull side is not influenced greatly by undercutting the ball. Today's power hitters catch the inside pitch (unless he turns on a high one) as the barrel is arcing up (just after the bottom-most point in the arc). I believe the best power hits to the pull side are pretty much square hits as far as barrel to ball goes.

However, a hit to center or the opposite field (or indeed most high pitches) might be influenced more by angle of contact because the arc would be flatter (except for an inside pitch that the batter gets too inside on. So IMO, the slight undercutting of a hit ball creates desired backspin only on hits to CF or pretty close to between the gaps--and some on hits the other way--along with some spin that takes the ball toward the line. I think a dead pull is pretty much a dead pull.

How is this used in practice? At launch, keep the barrel angle closer to straight up than flat (I think slightly back from vertical) hands stacked but tilted slightly back toward shoulder. Any cocking action should keep the bat from dropping much lower than 45 degrees.

The barrel will be in position to easily fall into the arc behind the hands. If the swing needs to be flatter, the barrel can still fall in place with the on-the-fly adjustment to the swing plane.

However, it is a killer flaw for a hitter to drop the barrel flat just before launch (as many amateur youths do). If the swing is at anything other than a high pitch--the barrel is forced to track outside the proper arc--and I don't believe maximum potential batspeed or accuracy is retained. The success this type of batter has with higher pitches will only reinforce that tendency and at higher levels--with pitchers working it consistently lower--the batter will struggle.

This is related to why I'm now adamant about keeping the ball low in BP. Swings at higher pitches are a reaction (and often mistakes) that should not be drilled. While a low ball hitter can often react adequately to a high pitch--someone looking up usually can't begin to handle the low pitch.

This fact is borne out based on the fact that few ML hitters drop the barrel like youths do. The closest I can come to one is Tino Martinez. But he still keeps the barrel up more than flat--it's just flatter than most others I've seen.

Keep the barrel up