Understanding Exit Speed
Exit Speed is my favorite hitting metric.
Let’s be clear here:
Bat speed is the speed of the bat itself.
Exit speed or exit velocity is the speed of the ball after it hits the bat.
Bat speed creates exit speed. You want both, but for our purposes, we’ll focus on “Exit Speed” because that’s the ultimate goal. If you’re looking to learn more about bat speed, check out our post outlining our Bat Speed Training program.
Nelson Cruz & Giancarlo Stanton lead MLB with an average of 94mph per hit ball. And the average MLB exit speed is around 89mph.
As a reference point, in my experience here are the things I’ve seen:
Softball
- The hardest Hit Softball off a Tee: Crystal Bustos, 92 mph
- Hardest Hit Softball on a field: Samantha Pappas, 85mph
- Hardest Hit Softball by a Jr. Higher (in a cage): Nicole May, 78mph
- Hardest Hit Softball by an Elementary School hitter: Kaity, 77mph
In my experience, if a high school softball hitter can legitimately hit 70mph on the radar gun, their chances of playing a high level of softball are high.
But, many college players average in the 65-73 range. So if you’re a softball player, make it a goal to try and hit 70mph (it would be like pitching 60+). If you can get 75+, give me a call (haha).
Baseball
- Hardest Hit Baseball in MLB 2016: Giancarlo Stanton, 123mph (ground out)
- Hardest Hit HomeRun in MLB 2016: Mike Trout, 120.5mph
In my experience, the MLB guys I work with will live in the 96-103mph range in the cages as highs and average in the 90mph range. I’ve had one hitter get up to 108mph in the cages. With my college guys I have a few that hit 100mph. For my high school guys, their goal is 90+ and for a few 95+. If you’re a high school baseball player using wood in the cages 90+ is a good goal to have. And if you hit that famous 100 mark, you let us know.
How is Exit Speed Measured?
I use the Pocket Radar but there are other quality Radar Guns on the market as well. Here’s a quick guide that shows how you can measure your own exit speed. We are starting to get some impressive numbers in from members of The Hitting Vault.
We’re starting to share some of our athlete’s contact info with interested College coaches. If you haven’t joined The Hitting Vault, now is a great time! You can hit your Exit Speed goal!
Coach Lisle
