Intermediate
Launch Angle (Batting)
Launch angle in batting is the vertical angle the ball leaves the bat. Roughly 10–25° produces the hardest, most productive contact.
Negative launch angle is a groundball; 0–10° is a hard line drive; 10–25° is the sweet spot for extra-base damage; 25–50° is a fly ball; above 50° is a pop-up. Elite hitters optimize exit velocity within the 8–20° band. Launch angle is a cross-sport homonym with golf, but the meaning (vertical launch off the striking face) is the same, so the per-sport entries differ only in context.
Example — On a hitting monitor
A 98 mph ball at a 16° launch angle is a screaming line drive into the gap.
Related terms
- Exit Velocity (EV)Exit velocity is how fast the ball comes off the bat, in mph. It is a ceiling metric — the harder you hit it, the farther it can go.
- Attack Angle (Batting)Attack angle in batting is the vertical angle of the bat path through the hitting zone. A slightly upward attack angle (+5° to +15°) matches the pitch plane for hard contact.
- BarrelA barrel is a batted ball with both high exit velocity and an optimal launch angle at the same time — the combination most likely to become an extra-base hit.
Related guides & benchmarks
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