For Mariners Fans: Baseball Sabermetrics 101
By Nick Lee
Exit Velocity
This is a stat often seen after a Ruthian homerun. Exit velocity (EV) is more self-explanatory as it is the speed of the baseball after it leaves the bat of the hitter in miles per hour. This is all batted balls, not just home run. This doesn’t mean it won’t turn into an out, but the speed it generates is powerful nonetheless.
Some of the best home runs this year have been measured by exit velocity. Some of the most power hitters today have a high “average exit velocity” accounting for all of their batted balls. Mariners fans consider Nelson Cruz to be a strong hitter with a violent swing. He has an average exit velocity of 92.5, which is 18th in all of baseball.
Surprisingly, Cruz is not among the top home run hitters as far as exit velocity goes this season. The Yankees’ young phenom Aaron Judge is the current king of “exit velo.” Judge leads all of baseball with an average exit velocity of 97.0. The fastest home run of the season also belongs to Judge at a blistering 121.1 MPH. A home run that has an exit velocity of over 110 MPH was absolutely crushed.