A few days ago, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, an analyst indicated that a player is a line drive hitter. That player has a great season so far and actually he has crushed a lot of home runs. After listening to the podcast show, I was just wondering about one thing.
According to the MLB website, as a general guideline, line drive is with a launch angle between 10 and 25 degrees. While hearing “line drive” from the podcast, I’m just thinking about the hitters who hit line drive home runs. And I decided to check on the statcast website to solve some doubts.
Firstly, from 2015 to 2025, is it possible to see a home run with a launch angle below 10 degrees? Well, interestingly, the answer is yes. TJ Friedl hit a home run on September 23, 2023. The launch angle of that home run was 5 degrees. However, the ball didn’t travel far. It was an inside-the-park home run. Its exit velocity was 100.1 mph.
Well, it seems that it’s unusual to see a hitter crush home runs with a launch angle below 10 degrees. So, I decided to check something different. How about a launch angle of 15 degrees or lower?
It gets much more common. From 2015 to 2025, Giancarlo Stanton smashed 5 home runs with a launch angle of 15 degrees or lower. He hit those line drive home runs very hard. Those 5 home runs were hit with an exit velocity over 110 mph.
Moreover, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also crushed line drive home runs. From 2021 to 2025, he smashed 3 home runs with a launch angle of 15 degrees. He hit those line drive home runs really hard with an exit velocity over 110 mph.
Furthermore, Maikel Franco played in the majors from 2014 to 2022. In those 9 seasons, he smashed 130 home runs. In 2015, he hit a home run with a launch angle of 14 degrees and an exit velocity of 108.9 mph. In 2018, he smashed a home run with a launch angle of 15 degrees and an exit velocity of 111.6 mph.
All Rise! No one would ignore Aaron Judge’s ability to crush home runs. In 2017, he smashed 2 home runs with a launch angle of 15 degrees. Those 2 home runs were hit with an exit velocity over 110 mph.
In addition, Manny Machado used to smash a home run with a launch angle of 15 degrees in 2017 and he hit a home run with a launch angle of 15 degrees in 2021. Those 2 home runs were hit with an exit velocity over 110 mph.
Finally, Mark Trumbo played in the majors from 2010 to 2019. He had 218 home runs in his career. In 2015, he blasted a home run with a launch angle of 15 degrees and an exit velocity of 115.5 mph. Also, in 2018, he hit a home run with a launch angle of 15 degrees and its exit velocity was 109.2 mph.
Looking back at the last 11 seasons, well, it’s not that easy to see home runs with a launch angle of 15 degrees or lower. Nonetheless, it still could happen. And some players even made it multiple times. In particular, Stanton and Guerrero Jr. even hit more than twice.
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