Rotational Acceleration is a metric that measures how quickly a hitter accelerates their bat through the sequencing of their body from the launch position into rotational movement.
In other words, it represents how quickly you can transition from the start of your swing to your top bat speed.
Rotational Acceleration is an important metric for determining how well your strength and movement work together to accelerate your bat to its max speed in the shortest amount of time.
Measurement
Rotational Acceleration is measured directly by a Blast Motion bat sensor and is represented in “g’s”. A “g” is a unit of force that equals the acceleration due to gravity, approximately 32 feet per second.
Objects accelerating to high speeds often experience many “g’s” of force such as a jet engine taking off or a baseball bat. For reference, the average rotational acceleration of an MLB player is 17 g’s.
Accelerating your bat to its max speed in the shortest time possible can potentially improve your ability to square up balls more easily and adjust to pitches. This metric is also one of the factors that leads to On Plane Efficiency.
Keep in mind, Rotational Acceleration, Bat Speed, and Exit Velocity can be related. Players with high acceleration numbers likely swing their bats faster and hit balls harder. But what separates bat speed from rotational acceleration is measuring which hitters can get to their “max speed” the fastest.
Ultimately, Rotational Acceleration is a function of strength and movement sequencing. Stronger players can normally produce the highest bat speeds, but producing optimal sequencing can also enable those to accelerate their swing even quicker.
This metric can be used to monitor injury status throughout a season as well. If a player exhibits lower average g’s during the season, it could be an indicator they aren’t generating the same level of force which could be the result of an injury.
Summary
Rotational Acceleration is one of the many factors that contribute to a player’s overall swing. Having an above-average rotational acceleration helps hitters utilize their max speed more frequently and leads to more successful batted ball results.
Related Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaUMtuUZzGI
https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2020/06/rotational-acceleration-sequencing-and-the-swing/
https://rocklandpeakperformance.com/how-to-improve-blast-motion-rotational-acceleration-metric/
https://rocklandpeakperformance.com/a-review-of-blast-motion-baseball-and-its-swing-quality-metrics/
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