A few weeks ago, a friend shared an article in a group. It’s an article that was published several years ago. The article is mainly about the Dodgers’ All-Star Justin Turner and his swing. Turner indicated that Marlon Byrd was one to credit for his swing.
Marlon Byrd had spent 15 years in the majors. Over these 15 seasons, he hit .275/.329/.430 with 159 home runs and 710 RBI. However, he was suspended 162 games for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2016. Well, Marlon Byrd became an All-Star in 2010 and that was the only time that he was selected to the All-Star game. Overall, Byrd’s career wasn’t that sensational. But, it’s worth mentioning some of his stats.
In the 2015 season, Marlon Byrd slashed .247/.290/.453 with 5 home runs and 23 RBI over 135 games. He played 96 games for the Cincinnati Reds, hitting .237/.286/.448 with 3 home runs and 19 RBI. Moreover, he was traded to the Giants on August 20, 2015, and he was hitting .272/.301/.463 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI in 39 games. Those numbers were not particularly great. However, it’s worth noting that his average launch angle was 12.1 degrees.
Back in 2015, Lucas Duda crushed 27 home runs and his average launch angle was over 20 degrees. At the same time, Brandon Moss’ launch angle was 19.8 degrees and he had 19 home runs. Meanwhile, Kris Bryant, who won the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year award, was hitting .275/.369/.488 with 26 home runs and 99 RBI. In Bryant’s rookie season, his average launch angle was 19.6 degrees. So, what does Marlon Byrd’s launch angle of 12.1 degrees mean?
In the 2015 season, Dexter Fowler had 17 home runs, Alex Rodriguez blasted 33 home runs, Miguel Cabrera had 18 home runs and Yoenis Cespedes crushed 35 homes. The average launch angle of these four players was 12.2 degrees. Marlon Byrd’s average launch angle of 12.1 degrees was similar to these players. Furthermore, Matt Kemp was hitting .265/.312/.443 with 23 home runs and 100 RBI in his first season with the Padres. Kemp’s launch angle was 12 degrees in 2015.
In 2016, Marlon Byrd played only 34 games for the Indians and he was suspended due to the PED violation. He was hitting .270/.326/.452 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. His average launch angle reached 17.1 degrees.
In the 2016 season, there weren’t too many players, whose launch angle reached over 17 degrees. Brandon Belt had 41 doubles, 8 triples and 17 home runs in 2016. He was selected to the All-Star game for the first time in his career and his launch angle was 21.2 degrees. Moreover, Kris Bryant had a great 2016 season and he won the 2016 NL MVP. Back in 2016, Bryant slashed .292/.385/.554 with 39 home runs and 102 RBI. Bryant’s launch angle was 20.8 degrees. Additionally, Todd Frazier crushed 40 home runs in 2016 and his average launch angle was over 20 degrees.
In addition, in 2016, Freddie Freeman’s launch angle went up to 17.3 degrees from 14.4 degrees. He blasted 34 home runs in 2016 and it was his first season with 30+ HR. Chris Davis blasted 38 home runs in 2016 and his average launch angle was 17.2 degrees.
It’s never easy to play 10+ seasons in the majors. Marlon Byrd played 15 seasons in the MLB and it seemed that he was still trying to make adjustments later in his career. His launch angle was 12.1 degrees in 2015 and it increased to 17.1 degrees in 2016. Furthermore, he tried to hit more balls into the air since his ground ball percentage was 43.7% in 2015 and the number dropped to 35% in 2016. Well, he didn’t return to the big league after being suspended in 2016 and we don’t know whether his swing change could extend his career.
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