Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber is one of those who would rather ignore it all. He has no interest in factoring launch angle into his swing, as he explained on the Julie & Maggie Show at Cubs Convention last Saturday.
"It's a load of BS," Schwarber said. "Sorry, I know. I think that stuff is BS. They're trying to make hitting harder, I feel like, and trying to pre-set things. Launch angle happens every time you hit a ball, no matter what. If I hit a ball and I hit straight down, that's a negative launch angle. And if I swing straight up, it's 90 (degrees). But if I go flat as can be, hit the ball super flat, there's going to be a launch angle no matter what.
"You just want to be flat with the zone. I think that stuff is all BS. Just go out there, work on a flat swing and focus on hitting the ball with the barrel because things are going to happen."
Schwarber hit .250 with 38 homers, 92 RBIs and an .871 OPS, which were all career-best marks in a really productive season. Schwarber's average launch angle was 15 degrees, if he cared to know.
Schwarber also posted a career-high 92.7 miles-per-hour exit velocity (excluding his injury-marred 2016 season in which he had two batted balls), but he doesn't care much for that figure either.
"Just hit it really hard," Schwarber said. "I know if I hit the barrel, it's going to come off hard."
That's the plan that Schwarber will take into 2020, when he'll work under new manager David Ross. Schwarber credited former manager Joe Maddon but is also excited to get going with Ross.
"With David coming in, a guy who already demands an immense amount of respect from his players when he was just a player, now stepping into that manager job, it's only going to be good stuff," Schwarber said. "(Anthony Rizzo) said it, we just had the kids' press conference, and he says it's going to be the biggest blessing in disguise for a lot of people's careers. And I truly believe that, so I think we're all looking forward to this."