LOS ANGELES – For Diamondbacks catcher John Ryan Murphy, there was no denying the data. He had seen the game change around him during his time in pro ball, had noticed waves of hitters changing their swings. And when he pulled up his numbers last year, he realized he was a perfect candidate to do the same thing.
“A lot of the balls I was hitting the hardest were the flattest balls, the lower-degree launch angles,” Murphy said. “It was definitely a focus – trying to keep the ball-off-the-bat speed the same, but trying to find a way to create the launch higher.