Why The “Torpedo” Bat May Be Closer To A Fad Than A Game-Changing Tool

The New York Yankees had a lot to prove to open the 2025 season.

After losing in the fashion they did in the World Series, followed by losing the free agency sweepstakes for Juan Soto to their cross-town rival, it would be difficult to picture the players not chomping at the bit to return to play and take the narrative about the talent of this year’s team into their own hands.

Slugging 15 home runs in their three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers was certainly one way to respond to the months of criticism this past offseason. Before the Yankees could even celebrate the opening series sweep, the conversation quickly shifted from how impressive their weekend was to the equipment they were using to achieve these feats. This isn’t a normal thought progression after a historic performance in most sports.

For those who missed it, the Yankees hosted the Brewers to start the 2025 regular season. New York took care of business in game one, with Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe each launching their first home runs of the year in a 4-2 win. Game two felt over before it even began, as former Yankee Nestor Cortes was not greeted with the homecoming he deserved.

On Saturday, the Yankees set a franchise record with nine home runs in the game, which is one shy of the MLB record. The game began in a hurry, as Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge hit three consecutive home runs to start the ballgame, as Judge finished the day with three home runs by himself.

Then on Sunday, the Bronx Bombers wanted to show that this performance was not an outlier, as they produced twelve runs on four home runs.

In the midst of this historic start to the year, reports emerged about a new type of bat some members of the Yankees are using. In fact, nine of the 15 home runs came via the “torpedo bat,” as Bellinger, Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. were all confirmed to be using this new piece of lumber for the opening series. But what is this bat, and is it even legal?

Since this story has highlighted the opening weekend of Major League Baseball, there are already several stories explaining the details of the bat.

In a brief summary, a former member of the Yankees analytics department Aaron Leanhardt, who is now a Field Coordinator for the Miami Marlins, created the bat, which debuted long before this weekend’s slugfest.

For one, Giancarlo Stanton used this bat in the 2024 season, which was highlighted by his seven home runs in 14 postseason games.

In fact, the Yankees are not the only team that knows about this. According to the New York Times, the Cubs, Twins, Blue Jays, and Rays all have players who have used the bat in games. After the success seen with the bat this weekend, bat manufacturers across the country will have their hands full.

Part of what makes the bat so interesting is that the bats used by the Yankees were customized for the players’ swings. A good example came from the Yankees’ broadcast on Saturday, which was explaining the new bat used by Volpe. Since the Yankee shortstop commonly hit the ball too close to his hands when he missed the traditional barrel, the “torpedo bat” moved the barrel of the bat closer to the logo on the bat.

To do this, the bat was lathed in more of a bowling-ball type shape, as seen via Kevin Smith’s post showing the difference of the sizing.

This explains why the bats are normally customizable, as they should be specific to the swing type and most common contact points of the batter. And, even though it looks like a corked bat or bigger than the standards allowed in baseball, Leanhardt ensured that it was consistent with the rules put in place by MLB.

The exact rule, also known as MLB Rule 3.02, states, “The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.”

So, the case is closed, right? Now that the body of evidence is out there for everyone to see, why would anyone not choose this competitive advantage, especially if it falls under the rules? Should baseball fans now expect hitting metrics to skyrocket, and the Yankees to continue on their current pace and finish with a record-breaking 810 home runs as a club?

Unfortunately not, as this surge by the Yankees is likely due to the slight benefits of the new tool for hitters, but mostly because of the unexpectedness of the Brewers’ pitching staff. With this new bat specifically adjusting the “sweet spot” to where these hitters most commonly make contact, Milwaukee would not know to pitch differently to these batters since there was no data to suggest against their scouting.

Take Volpe for example. If the simplified scouting report on him is to induce soft contact by pitching him inside, to then set up the outside of the zone with two strikes, then Volpe looking to turn on a pitch with this new bat would significantly aid him in a pitch he once struggled with.

It would be no different than if Volpe auditioned a new batting stance or removed his leg kick to aid with being jammed on the pitch. Once he proves he can hit this pitch for power, the scouting report is likely to change.

What will be interesting is the adjustments that pitchers make to these new bats. Will this increase the amount of cutters and sliders pitchers use in same-sided matchups? Or will pitching inside to a batter actually become more common, since hitters are likely to swing looking for contact on their new barrel?

Like any trend in baseball, the league will quickly adjust and catch up, especially when pitchers are at a rare disadvantage. The evolution of pitching had lapped hitting in the past decade, so even if Leanhardt’s invention torpedoes in popularity, it is still a welcome sight for the position players to be thinking outside the box for a way to “win on the margins,” as Aaron Boone put it.

This post was originally published on this site