GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
Is a batted ball's launch angle the same as the bat's attack angle?
No. Launch Angle measures the vertical angle of the ball as it leaves the bat. Attack Angle measures the vertical direction of the bat’s sweet spot as it moves at the point of contact, or where bat and ball cross on a miss. Both use degrees relative to the ground, but they track different objects and moments.
For Bettors and cappers learning to read baseball records · Updated
Launch Angle describes the ball after contact
MLB defines Launch Angle in degrees as the vertical angle at which a batted ball leaves the bat. Zero degrees is parallel to the ground; positive angles travel upward and negative angles travel toward the ground. It is a property of the ball’s post-contact path.
Attack Angle describes the bat at contact
Attack Angle measures the vertical direction of the bat’s sweet spot relative to the ground at the contact point. On a swing-and-miss, Statcast reports the point where the bat and ball cross paths. It describes the bat’s motion at that instant, not the resulting flight angle of a ball.
The two angles can have different values without contradicting each other: the bat is moving when contact occurs, and the ball then leaves on its own trajectory. Do not apply a ball-flight classification to the bat-path measurement.
Two fictional angles at one contact
Hypothetical contact: a bat’s Attack Angle is recorded at 12 degrees above the ground at the contact point. The resulting batted ball leaves at a 27-degree Launch Angle above the ground. Both values are invented and use degrees, but 12 describes the bat’s vertical direction at impact while 27 describes the ball’s vertical flight after impact. The example does not imply that one angle determines the other.
Related questions
If Attack Angle is 12 degrees, is Launch Angle also 12 degrees?
No. Attack Angle is the bat’s vertical movement at contact; Launch Angle is the ball’s vertical path as it leaves the bat.