A-Rod is not a fan of Launch Angle

Alex Rodriguez (2015)

Alex Rodriguez is a great hitter without doubt. 10 times silver slugger, 600+ Home runs, 2000+ RBIs, 3000+ Hits. His career OPS was .930. In his YouTube channel, Alex talked about how to hit homers and he said “forgot about the launch angle.” Well, there are several hitting approaches to be effective hitters. So I took a look at A-Rod’s launch angle.

Statcast data available from 2015, so there’s no information prior to 2015. In 2015, A-Rod’s average launch angle was 12.1 degrees, and 10.7 degrees in his last season (2016). Meanwhile, in 2015 the average launch angle in MLB was 10.5 degrees, and in 2016 the league average rose to 11.5 degrees. A-Rod’s average launch angle was higher than the league average in 2015 and that year, he crushed 33 home runs, 16^th most in the league.

A-Rod's launch angle dropped from to 10.7 degrees in 2016. In his career, how often did he hit the balls on the ground? We see that A-Rod hit more offspeed pitches on the ground from 2008 to 2013. Against fastballs, A-Rod GB% ranged from 36.6% to 49%.

A-Rod only played 44 games in 2013, that year, 36% breaking balls hit by him was line drive. In his final season, LD% against breaking balls was 14.3% and 9.1% against offspeed, each was the lowest from between 2008 and 2016. While 27.8% line drive rate against fastballs was the highest.

A-Rod hit fastballs in the air more frequently, however, in the last 2 seasons, he hit more offspeed pitches in the air more often.

Since the statcast data available in the 2015 season, launch angle has been talking everywhere. We see good cases of Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner, adjusting their swings and becoming all-stars. There are several factors to be a good hitter such as pitch selection, timing and mechanics. Launch angle is just one of these. Alex Rodriguez made his debut at 18 and played for 22 seasons. His hitting approach definitely works for him, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to have such a long career in baseball. His approach might be working for some players. Nonetheless, launch angle also played a role in his hitting. To be a good hitter, there is not just one way.