Bat angle at "launch"

[Williamsburg2599]

Excuse me if I'm using the wrong terms here, but I have noticed something about the following elite hitter's swings.:
19470
19472
19473
19474

Notice how all of their bat angles are not 90º up-and-down, but more like 45º-80º. Yet I've never heard any clinic or coach mention bat angle at the launch point. Is it a matter of preference, or a critical point in a swing?

[dougmac]

Good post and good thoughts. The pics you posted are of some great hitters, and you noticed that none of them have a flat bat. Good job.

[2seamer]

With a slightly "angled" bat at "launch point" the hitter generates more torque which creates more bat speed.

[MSandman]

Actually Doug... I think he noticed that none of them have a vertical bat, didn't he? :p

[Ursa Major]

Well, at the risk of being accused of being a resurrected Nymanite or something, I'll direct you to another interesting point about all those launch points. The bat is parallel to the hitter's upper arm, and essentially perpendicular to his forearm. This 3-sided structure is called "the box" (by some), and, if rotated in a single plane with great speed, will cause the bat (and hence the batHEAD), to come flying around with even greater speed.

Just a thought.