Adding 5 MPH to Ball Exit Speed Off the Bat will Add
an Extra 25 Feet of Distance to the Travel of a Hit Ball
Many people are starting to understand the importance of Ball Exit Speed off the bat in hitting training. It gives
you a direct measure of the power of the hit
hit. Major League Baseball has understood this for a long time,
time and that
is why you can see the Ball Exit Speed of every home run hit in MLB on the website: www.hittrackeronline.com
now known as ESPN Home Run Tracker. Of every home run hit in the 2012 season, only one was measured
under 90 MPH, and that was 89.8 MPH by Jayson Nix. The highest number that season was produced by
Giancarlo Stanton, who produced an incredible 122.4 MPH Ball Exit Speed off the bat.
Coaches and hitting instructors use Ball Exit Speed off the bat in their hitting training because they understand
the value of this data to help athletes increase the power and line drive consistency of their hitters. The convenient
size and affordable price of the Pocket Radar™ make it an ideal choice for helping develop hitting skills.
The Pocket Radar is a great training tool for multiple skills, it allows you to measure Ball Exit Speed off the bat,
pitching and throwing speeds as well as base-runner speed and acceleration. The Pocket Radar provides an
accuracy of +/- 1 MPH, at a fraction of the cost and size of other professional radar guns. Regularly priced at
$199.99, it gives you over 10,000 readings on two standard AAA batteries and fits easily in your pocket for
everyday
d use around
d the
h cages and
d on the
h fi
field.
ld The
h Recall
ll function
f
i stores the
h previous
i
10 speedd readings,
di
so you
can measure how a runner is accelerating out of the batter’s box, how a pitcher is mixing in their off-speed
pitches, and how much extra power you added to your hitting with your latest training session.
Measure >> Train >> Improve
Is There a Difference Between Ball Exit Speed
and Bat Swing Speed?
Many people know that bat swing speed is important, but there is often
a lot of confusion between bat swing speed and Ball Exit Speed
Speed.
•
A good hit is a balance between bat characteristics, swing speed and the individual hitting
mechanics of each player. It all depends on how well they can transfer energy onto the ball.
Bat swing speed is only one indicator of performance that may result in increased Ball Exit
Speed.
•
The Ball Exit Speed off the bat is a direct measure of the power you put on the ball which
determines
de
e
es thee distance
d s a ce it will
w travel.
ave .
•
For a well hit ball the Ball Exit Speed is always faster than the bat swing speed
•
Where does y
your Ball Exit Speed
p
rank against
g
others? – See for yyourself here:
Baseball: http://www.baseballskillstest.com/leaderboard.php?type=2
Softball: http://www.softballskillstest.com/leaderboard.php?type=11
Learn more here:
http://www.efastball.com/hitting/average-bat-speed-exit-speed-by-age-group/
Measure >> Train >> Improve
What is the Relationship Between Ball Exit Speed
and Travel Distance on a Hit Ball?
Every Extra 1 MPH = an Extra 5 Feet!
• Ball Speed
p
is a direct measure of the p
power of the hit which determines the distance
of travel.
• On average for a well hit ball, every 1 MPH increase in Ball Exit Speed will add an
extra
t 5 feet
f t off ttravell distance!
di t
!
Check it out for yourself:
Look at Page 4 of: baseball.physics.illinois.edu/ppt/parkland.ppt
baseball physics illinois edu/ppt/parkland ppt
Look into the actual data from MLB home runs at: http://www.hittrackeronline.com/
See Graph on Page 93 of “THE PHYSICS OF BASEBALL” by Robert K. Adair, Ph.D.
See Graph on Page 26 of “International Symposium on Safety in Baseball/Softball 313” by Hoerner EF, Cosgrove FA
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Are You Using the Right Size Bat?
In a major study done by scientists at the University of Arizona they measured the hitting mechanics and results of many athletes and found that there is a lot of room for improvement at all levels.
p
It was surprising how many hitters they found at each level that were NOT using the ideal bat size for their swing mechanics. 75% at Little League
50% at the College level
25% at the MLB level
Check it out for yourself:
http://www.sie.arizona.edu/sysengr/publishedPapers/NewScientist.pdf
Measure >> Train >> Improve
How to Measure Ball Exit Speed off the Bat
Tap the Red button as the batter is about to plant their front foot at the beginning of the
swing. Then the Pocket Radar will show the Ball Exit Speed off the bat.
Keep the radar beam
aimed in-line with
the path of the ball
Have the batter
hit off a tee
At least 15 to 20 feet
At least 15 to 20 feet
Have the Radar Gun 15 to 20 feet back behind the
hitter and down at the level of the ball on the tee.
Have the net or target at least 15 to 20 feet
away from the hitter.
(This allows the spot size of the beam to spread out to
make it easy to aim in-line with the path of the ball)
(This allows ball to be in flight long enough for the
radar to find the ball moving in a straight line)
Measure >> Train >> Improve
How to Determine the Best Bat Size
and Hitting Mechanics for Each Player:
•
Have a hitter make 10 hits off a tee and measure the
Ball Exit Speed
p
of each. Then find their average
g speed
p
by adding them all up and dividing by 10.
• If you would like to measure their consistency
percentage, take their lowest exit speed and
divide that byy their highest
g
exit speed.
p
- This is a great way to find the right bat size that works
best for each individual player. Do a round of this with
several very different size bats.
•
Do this same drill, but work on mechanical tweaks and
corrections to hitting mechanics.
• Take 10 swings with your current mechanics, and
then switch to different mechanical approaches for
the next couple rounds to see if these can help
increase the Ball Exit Speed.
- This works great to use measured results to find the
right
i ht mechanics
h i that
th t work
kb
bestt ffor your approach.
h
Measure >> Train >> Improve
Template for Bat Fitting
using Ball Exit Speed Measurement
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Example of Bat Fitting Results
(Experienced 17U Baseball Player)
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