The slugger who hit more home runs than anyone else in MLB history isn’t a big fan of launch angle.
Launch angle has been all the rage in baseball this year, with everyone from players, executives, analysts and TV broadcasters talking about it. Barry Bonds though isn’t a big fan of it.
“I don’t understand why launch angle really matters,” Bonds said in an article via The Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin. “I’d rather be a really good contact hitter and put the ball in play and allow my ability to take care of itself.”
Bonds went on to say that players are adapting their approaches around the launch angle talk because that’s what teams want.
A lot of the conversation Shaikin had with Bonds had to do with Christian Yelich’s success in Milwaukee this season. Bonds was the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins in 2016 when Yelich was on the team. Yelich is a player who says he does not pay attention to launch angle; he just tries to hit the ball hard and let the power come. He smashed 36 dingers during the regular season.
On the other end of the discussion is Cubs president Theo Epstein, who says that launch angle is “not a fad” and played a role in the firing of the team’s hitting coach.
