From the Publisher:

Here’s a thought as we enter MLB playoff season: Exit Velocity is killing hitters.

On the surface, that seems wrong. Hitting the ball hard is absolutely a virtue. The harder the ball is hit, the greater chance there is of getting a hit. This is backed up by data (remember this is MLB data, so the batting averages are much higher at lower exit velos in college and high school):

So, while hitting the ball harder gets you more hits, there is a downside:

Your Exit Velocity average doesn’t include strikeouts.

Exit Velo is increasingly used to judge how good hitters are and will continue to be, much like pitching velocity. However, if there are two strikes and you shorten up just to put the ball in play and avoid a strikeout, it significantly affects your average exit velocity. And if your average exit velocity goes down, it affects the opinion of how good a player you are by coaches and recruiters and general managers.

So, it’s natural that hitters do not want to be deemed as less due to a lower exit velo. And if strikeouts don’t impact average exit velo, then that’s deemed a necessary sacrifice.

Thus, hitters are basically being incentivized to strike out more. Less strikeouts will negatively impact their average exit velo and in turn, negatively impact their playing time, advancement and even pocketbook.

Just something to think about while watching the playoffs, or evaluating your own players in the context of what best leads to
winning baseball.