When you first walk into Elite Diamond Performance, you are immediately met with screens flashing numbers, charts and graphs. We make no secret that we believe highly in measuring every swing that is taken in the facility to ensure that hitters are improving. One such metric that gets measured is exit velocity. While there is still a ton of debate around the term (not sure why, but this article can hopefully clear up any confusion regarding the topic), I want to discuss the differences in max exit velocity vs. hard hit average (consistency).
CONSISTENCY VS MAXES
Max Exit Velocity: The hardest a player can possibly hit a baseball.
Exit Velocity Consistency: A players ability to hit balls hard as often as possible. This is measured on the Hit Trax as Hard Hit Average. Hard Hit average counts any ball hit within 10% of a hitter’s max exit velocity as a hard hit.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAX EXIT VELOCITY
Simply put, the harder we can hit a baseball, the harder it will be to field and the further it can potentially go. Just about every statistic we use to measure a hitter’s success goes up as their exit velocity increases. Max exit velocity has also become a very important showcase metric. It is the equivalent to max velocity for a pitcher. The higher the number, the more potential a team or school thinks a player has and the more looks a player will potentially receive.
I always say that your max numbers are your foot in the door but not the biggest factor in your on field success. Your max numbers are a good way to help coaches and scouts take notice to then come and see if you can play the game. In order to play Major League Baseball, you need to be able to hit a ball over 105 MPH, Division 1 over 100, and so on. Likewise, in order to pitch in the major leagues you need to be at a minimum over 90 mph and over 85 to play division 1 college baseball. However, once you have achieved the ability to hit the ball over the minimum requirements for the level of play that you are in or wish to get to, adding on will not always mean more success.
THE IMPORTANCE OF EXIT VELOCITY CONSISTENCY
If there was one goal that I would say is common across every hitter at the facility, it would be to improve exit velocity consistency. After all, the goal of hitting, in a nutshell, is to hit as many balls hard as possible. That is what the best hitters on the planet do. The way that this is measured is either by Hard hit average (anything within 10% of max) or by average exit velocity.
WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT?
While we train both and celebrate both at the facility, consistency is a more important metric for determining a hitter’s ability. When it comes to training, if a player is striving to get to the next level, the offseason is the time to really put more emphasis on their max exit velocity. However, as the season approaches and games begin, the consistency takes over. While player’s generally get much more excited by improving their max, consistency should be the main goal. Think about it this way: Giancarlo Stanton can hit a baseball harder than any human on the planet, but is he the best hitter in the world?