In This League 857: 5/18 Hour 1: Baseball Savant’s New Bat Tracking Data
May 18, 2024
Eno Sarris, a writer for The Athletic renowned for his deep understanding of baseball statistics, joins the discussion on groundbreaking bat tracking data from Baseball Savant. They dive into how metrics like bat speed and exit velocity challenge old analytics assumptions. Eno highlights the link between swing mechanics and injury risks while analyzing pitch strategies and player performances. The conversation also touches on the growing role of e-commerce platforms like Shopify in sports marketing, revealing unexpected connections between baseball and digital sales.
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Squared Up's Predictive Challenges
- Squared up indicates a hitter's ability to deliver the barrel to the ball effectively.
- Its variability limits its predictive value across games despite reflecting quality contact.
Bat Speed Limits Alone
- Bat speed alone does not tell the complete story of a player's hitting ability.
- Players can have similar bat speed yet vastly different outcomes due to factors like swing length and contact point.
Contact Point Shapes Bat Metrics
- A hitter's contact point significantly affects bat speed and swing length measurements.
- Pull hitters tend to have longer swing lengths and higher bat speed due to the front contact point.