Attack Direction
Definition
Attack direction measures the horizontal direction that the sweet spot of the bat is moving at the point of contact with the baseball (or the point the bat and ball cross paths on a swing-and-miss).
Attack direction is measured compared to an imaginary line going from home plate to straightaway center field, and reported as degrees "pull" or "oppo" -- depending on whether the bat is traveling toward the batter's pull side or opposite-field side when he hits the ball.
An attack direction of 0° means the barrel of the bat is traveling straight toward center field when the hitter makes contact, while a higher angle reflects a more extreme pull/oppo attack direction. A "pull" attack direction means the barrel of the bat is moving toward left field for a right-handed hitter or right field for a left-handed hitter. An "oppo" attack direction means the barrel of the bat is moving toward right field for a right-handed hitter or left field for a left-handed hitter.
The Major League average attack direction is about 2° pull. On a seasonal level, MLB hitters tend to have attack directions ranging from around 15° pull to 10° oppo.
- Hitters with extreme pull attack directions include Isaac Paredes (17° pull in 2024), Jorge Soler (10° pull) and José Ramírez (10° pull).
- Hitters with extreme oppo attack directions include Nathaniel Lowe (8° oppo in 2024), Anthony Volpe (7° oppo) and Rafael Devers (7° oppo).
- Hitters with up-the-middle attack directions include Corbin Carroll, Brandon Nimmo and Dansby Swanson, who all averaged 0° in 2024.
Attack direction, attack angle and swing timing
Attack direction is reported together with attack angle. Attack direction is the horizontal direction the sweet spot is traveling at the contact point, and attack angle is the vertical angle the sweet spot of the bat is traveling at that same point.
Attack direction is reflective of the hitter’s timing, because the hitter’s attack direction changes constantly throughout the course of the swing. Statcast’s attack direction metric is reported at the intercept point with the baseball, so if the hitter is early or late with his swing, his attack direction will change significantly.
The same goes for attack angle.
Statcast bat tracking data is available going back to the 2023 All-Star break.