NEWSLETTER
In the top of the fourth inning of yesterday’s loss to the Cardinals, Kris Bryant launched the second pitch of his at-bat DEEP into the left field bleachers.
After a few rain delays in St. Louis, @KrisBryant_23 provided the thunder. #Crushed pic.twitter.com/Qbix0Mo5v5
— MLB (@MLB) May 7, 2018
Brett covered more of the specifics yesterday, but as a brief recap, it left the bat at 109 MPH and traveled 433 feet. Basically, it was a bonafide blast. But the details of the bomb weren’t the most interesting things about it.
Instead, it was the location of the pitch and the launch angle (33 degrees). So first, look at where that pitch ended up:
How would you define that location – inside and thigh high? Yeah, well, that’s *precisely* the location Bryant told Alex Rodriguez he liked it before the game in an interview that played during the broadcast, shortly before the homer.
Here’s a still of him explaining exactly where he likes it and what he wants to do with a pitch when it gets there:
Of course, Bryant discusses much more than that in the interview, including his dedication to, and success with, improving his launch angle (that homer left the bat at 33 degrees, so, yeah, he pretty much nailed it).
Watching two great hitters like Bryant and A-Rod discuss their strategies, and what’s changed since the the latter played the game is very cool and very worth your time.
And the fact that Bryant described – perfectly – where he likes it and what he can do with certain pitches – just lends credence to the fact that Bryant isn’t just an extremely knowledgable, well-polished hitter, but that he also puts his money where his mouth is.
