Ideal Attack Angle
Definition
Statcast classifies the ideal attack angle for a swing as between 5° and 20°.
A hitter's ideal attack angle rate is the percentage of his competitive swings that fall within the 5-20° attack angle range.
Attack angle refers to the vertical direction that the sweet spot of the bat is traveling at the moment of contact with the baseball (or the point where the bat and ball cross paths, in the case of a swing-and-miss).
An attack angle of 5-20° is considered “ideal” because swings that are within that range at the point of contact result in the most offensive value for the hitter.
Swings in the ideal attack angle range are much more likely to produce line drives and fly balls, resulting in significantly higher slugging percentage and more extra-base hits.
Hitters with high ideal attack angle rates include Alex Bregman (69% of competitive swings in 2024), Kyle Schwarber (67%), José Ramírez (64%) and Juan Soto (61%).
Note that ideal attack angle rate is largely reflective of the hitter’s timing. The hitter’s attack angle is constantly changing throughout the course of the swing. If the hitter’s swing passes through the ideal attack angle range too early or too late, he is less likely to make productive contact with the pitch.
Statcast bat tracking data is available going back to the 2023 All-Star break.