Trust me, there is a distinctive and noticeable difference between catching a ball in the air and one that short hops off the ground. The short hop gives the ball an extra zip as it hits your glove due to the acceleration it is experiencing after hitting the ground. A ball you simply catch in the air doesn't have that secondary force of acceleration created by the ground. The ball that doesn't bounce might actually still be traveling faster, but it is losing acceleration and doesn't have the same pop.