Yankees and exit velocity: What do players think of the statistic, and is it important to them?

Of all the numbers tracked by Major League Baseball — and there is no shortage of them — few engender as much discussion as exit velocity.

Almost as soon as a baseball broadcast breathlessly declares that a prodigious home run traveled 475 feet, a reference will be made to the ball leaving the bat at, say, 110, 115, 120 mph.

It is almost a requirement of a given broadcaster to mention that a line shot chased down in the gap — or that finds its way to the wall for extra bases or clears the wall for a home run — came off so-and-so’s bat at 110 mph. Same for a ground smash scooped up by the third baseman, a ball that off the bat should have found green grass but did not.

Still, Player X sure did “barrel that one up. He hit it 116 mph . . . ”

Though individual teams tracked such things in various ways before, exit velocity began to be officially kept as a statistic by MLB in 2015 and quickly became a fun talking point for fans and media alike.

As well as something used by organizations as a predictor, though not the sole one, for players’ performances at the plate.

But do players themselves pay the kind of attention to exit velocity that everyone else seemingly does?

“I can’t speak for other guys, but for myself, not really,” 11-year veteran Aaron Judge said. “I’ve always been about, if you have a good swing, if you have good mechanics and a good approach, all the extra numbers, exit velo, launch angle, stuff you’re looking for is going to be there.”

“I don’t spend too much time looking at it,” 16-year veteran Paul Goldschmidt said. “I think most, I’m not going to say all, but a large percentage of guys don’t think about it really at all. I think it’s talked about more on TV or in front offices than the clubhouse.”

Giancarlo Stanton called it a “cool talking piece” and “conversation starter” but not something he thinks about.

“I’ve hit enough exit-velo-breaking singles that what really matters is the result, in my opinion,” said Stanton, who is in his 17th season in the majors. “Would I rather hit a 120-mile-an-hour single or a 101-mile-an-hour homer? So no doubt, it’s a cool talking point, like ‘damn, he crushed that ball.’ But for me, it’s consistency and results. But it’s very cool. Not diminishing it at all.”

Stanton and Judge, of course, have long been the kings of exit velocity. Their names for the better part of the last decade have dotted the leaderboard in that category.

Entering Sunday, Stanton had the sixth-hardest-hit ball in the big leagues this season, 116.3 mph. Judge had the seventh at 116.2 mph (the Pirates’ Oneil Cruz led at 119.0 mph).

Cruz set the record in the Statcast era, which dates to 2015, with a 122.9-mph missile last May, breaking the previous record held by Stanton, who twice rifled baseballs at 122.2 mph — in 2017, when he was with the Marlins, and 2018, his first season with the Yankees.

Cruz led the majors in average exit velocity last season at 95.8 mph, followed closely by Judge at 95.4 mph (Judge maxed out at 118.1 mph).

Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, who in his first full season in the big leagues in 2025 was tied for ninth in average exit velocity (93.3) and whose hardest-hit ball left his bat at 113.5 mph, said he looks at his numbers but isn’t consumed with them.

“It can tell you part of the story,” he said. “You can be hitting the ball as hard as ever, but if you’re just beating it into the ground, it’s not going to do you any good. It can just tell you whether you’re on the barrel or not, it can tell you if your process is good . . . but it’s just a piece of the puzzle, it’s not the full end-all be-all.”

Average exit velocity in the majors is generally in the range of 88 to 90 mph, with power hitters regularly averaging in the neighborhood of 95 mph-plus.

Not surprisingly, because of the presence of hitters such as Judge and Stanton — as well as long-time general manager Brian Cashman’s desire to annually stock his team with, in his words, “big hairy monsters” — the Yankees generally rank at or near the top of MLB in exit velocity. They led MLB last season in homers with 274 and average exit velocity at 90.8 mph (the Mets were next at 90.7 mph, followed by the Red Sox at 90.3 and the Dodgers at 89.9).

Cody Bellinger, a two-time All-Star and former National League MVP with the Dodgers, had one of the best seasons of any Yankee last season, hitting .272 with 29 homers, 25 doubles and an .820 OPS.

“I know for me personally, I wish I could consistently hit the ball 110, but it’s just not me,” said Bellinger, whose average exit velocity last season was only 88.3 mph. “So I think exit velocity is great, but you have to hit the ball. You still have to hit the ball at the right angles. If you’re hitting it negative 8 or 50, it doesn’t matter how hard you hit it, in my opinion. For me, I just try to focus on correct angles.”

Which is what hitting coach James Rowson wants his hitters focusing on — making the most of the swing they have and working with that.

“I think if you just start chasing bigger numbers is when you get in trouble,” he said. “It’s important, it does give you good feedback [on making contact with the barrel], but it’s definitely not the one thing that solves everything.”

Each hitter spoken to mentioned the danger of “chasing” more exit velocity, giving voice to the baseball adage “chase power, chase pitches.”

“I could square one up and it’s 100 miles an hour and that’s the swing I want, or I could hit one that’s 115 but I’m pulling over, I roll over,” Judge said. “Yeah, I got the barrel out but it might not be a good swing]. So why would I want to try to chase a number when it’s not the swing I’m looking for?”