The torpedo bats used by MLB players stirred conversation, especially after the Yankees thrashed the Brewers with multiple Yankees hitters using the new bats. What are they?
The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers 20-9 Saturday and hit a franchise-record nine home runs in the rout.
During the game, the YES broadcast noted that some Yankees players were using torpedo bats.
So, what are they?
The torpedo bats have the barrel of the bat in a different location. Instead of being at the end of the bat, the barrel is closer to the handle, which gives the bat a bowling pin shape. Some players make contact with the ball more on the label instead of the traditional barrel of the bat. The torpedo bats move the barrel to the label, so when they make contact they barrel up the baseball more.
The uniquely shaped bats dominated conversation among players and fans this weekend after the Yankees’ offensive eruption.
„I think it’s terrible“, Brewers relief ace Trevor Megill told the New York Post. „We’ll see what the data says. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I feel like it’s something used in slo-pitch softball. It’s genius: Put the mass all in one spot. It might be bush [league]. It might not be. But it’s the Yankees, so they’ll let it slide.“
Kevin Smith, who spent time with the Yankees last season, took to X to give credit to Aaron Leanhardt for the innovative bat.
„Yes, the Yankees have a literal genius MIT Physicist, Lenny (who is the man), on payroll. He invented the ‘torpedo’ barrel. It brings more wood – and mass – to where you most often make contact as a hitter. The idea is to increase the number of ‘barrels’ and decrease misses“, Smith wrote.
Leanhardt, 48, has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.
