Vertical Bat Angle

What is it?

Vertical Bat Angle is the angle between bat and horizontal plane at the moment of impact.

Why is it Important?

Vertical Bat Angle determines how much plate coverage the bat is for a particular swing. The closer to 0 your Vertical Bat Angle metric is, the flatter the bat is. This can result in greater plate coverage.

Vertical Bat Angle is often dependent on the location of the pitch.

• A pitch up in the zone will most likely result in a flatter bat (a.k.a a Vertical Bat Angle closer to 0 degrees). 
• An inside low pitch will most likely have a steeper Vertical Bat Angle than an outside low pitch.

It is important for younger players to have consistent Vertical Bat Angle for each location in the zone. 

Vertical Bat Angle can also help coaches determine if a bat is too heavy for a young player. If their VVertical Bat Angle is much lower when they use a heavier bat than when they use a light bat, that can indicate the bat is too heavy or end loaded.

For higher-level players, this can be an indicator of body tilt. If a player has a similar Vertical Bat Angle for inside and outside pitches, this could indicate that they are moving their body and head to “reach” the pitch.