The Influence of Batted Ball Factors on the Home Run Rate of Major League Baseball
Session Number
Project ID: MATH 5
Advisor(s)
Chris Jones, Chicago Cubs, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Class of 2002
Discipline
Mathematics
Start Date
22-4-2020 9:45 AM
End Date
22-4-2020 10:00 AM
Abstract
In Major League Baseball, home run rates over the past several years have reached unprecedented, record-breaking levels, leading many to suspect that the composition of the baseball itself is different compared to previous years. Our study attempts to build on previous research confirming differences in ball composition by parametrizing the specific effects this change has had on the outcome of batted balls. To start, we took indoor Statcast batted ball data from 2015 and 2019 (before and after the assumed change in ball) and analyzed the effects that exit velocity and launch angle have had on the overall distance traveled by the ball. We separated the horizontal and vertical forces on the ball, attempting to locate how specific factors might affect the flight of the ball. From this, we found strong correlations between distance traveled and launch angle, hang time, and distance traveled per each second of hang time. From here, we plan to use these correlations to estimate a specific relationship between exit velocity, launch angle, and distance traveled in order to estimate how the change in ball composition has affect different types of batted balls.
The Influence of Batted Ball Factors on the Home Run Rate of Major League Baseball
In Major League Baseball, home run rates over the past several years have reached unprecedented, record-breaking levels, leading many to suspect that the composition of the baseball itself is different compared to previous years. Our study attempts to build on previous research confirming differences in ball composition by parametrizing the specific effects this change has had on the outcome of batted balls. To start, we took indoor Statcast batted ball data from 2015 and 2019 (before and after the assumed change in ball) and analyzed the effects that exit velocity and launch angle have had on the overall distance traveled by the ball. We separated the horizontal and vertical forces on the ball, attempting to locate how specific factors might affect the flight of the ball. From this, we found strong correlations between distance traveled and launch angle, hang time, and distance traveled per each second of hang time. From here, we plan to use these correlations to estimate a specific relationship between exit velocity, launch angle, and distance traveled in order to estimate how the change in ball composition has affect different types of batted balls.