Wichita State shortstop Trey Vickers knows why "launch angle" is baseball's hot term and latest path to fame.
"Everybody likes the home run ," he said. "If you watch major-league baseball, especially, you see who gets paid the most. You see videos on Instagram and YouTube of young kids trying to (use) launch angle."
Wichita State started baseball practice on Friday afternoon at windy Eck Stadium. Throughout the individual skill workouts that started earlier this month, many of the hitters looked at launch angles and exit velocities to guide their swings. While technology is familiar in baseball, the confluence of video, social media, easy-to-obtain apps for phones and tablets and the desire for power are combining to push the sport in a new direction.