What’s a torpedo bat? Historical past of the Yankees’ controversial bats – NBC New York

The Bronx Bombers now have torpedoes of their arsenal.

The New York Yankees formally launched the “torpedo bat” period over the weekend — with a number of gamers utilizing a modified baseball bat through the group’s historic offensive onslaught in its opening collection of the 2025 season.

The wooden of the bat is shifted from the barrel in the direction of the batter’s arms to create a {custom} candy spot the place contact is most incessantly made. The reconfiguration offers the bat the form of a torpedo — or a bowling pin, which does not sound almost as menacing or apropos.

As a result of the Yankees hit bombs with them.

9 of their MLB record-tying 15 dwelling runs hit of their first three video games have been utilized by 5 gamers utilizing torpedo bats, together with six of a franchise-record 9 homers in Saturday’s 20-9 rout over the Milwaukee Brewers. 

“I believe the benefit is that you just’re extra more likely to make an affordable contact,” Dave Savage, a physics trainer in Oregon, informed NBC Native. “So…you’ve got elevated your probabilities. After which the nearer you may get to lifeless heart of that candy spot the place the bat is the biggest, most large, that’s going to be your largest change of momentum.”

It wasn’t the primary time torpedo bats have been used within the main leagues, however the Yankees’ offensive outburst helped put the torpedoes on baseball’s radar.

Some social media customers and baseball purists — and not less than one opposing participant – then returned hearth, saying the bats needs to be outlawed.

The bats, nonetheless, are authorized underneath MLB’s guidelines. And extra groups are actually wanting so as to add torpedo bats to their very own arsenal.

What’s a torpedo bat?

Mike Stobe/Getty Photos

Mike Stobe/Getty Photos

The torpedo bat is a custom-shaped baseball bat with a modified barrel that’s tailor-made to maximise the contact tendencies of the batter.

Wooden is shifted from the top of the barrel to a location nearer to the arms, making the bat widest on the spot the place the batter most frequently makes contact with the ball.

That reshaping and relocation of the candy spot offers the bat the looks of a torpedo.

Who invented the torpedo bat?

No, it wasn’t the Yankees’ assistant to the touring secretary, George Costanza.

A lot of the current credit score for the implementation of the torpedo bat has gone to Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees front-office staffer who’s now the Miami Marlins’ area coordinator.

Leanhardt, a former physicist on the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how, mentioned the concept developed in 2022 whereas he was working with the Yankees’ minor-league hitting division.

The 48-year-old Leanhardt, who holds a bachelor’s diploma in electrical engineering from the College of Michigan and a Ph.D. in physics from MIT, beforehand coached baseball within the Atlantic League and at a Montana group faculty, per The Athletic. He grew to become the Yankees’ main league analyst in 2024, and gamers throughout the group quickly started utilizing torpedo bats in regular-season video games.  

“Actually, it’s nearly making the bat as heavy and as fats as attainable within the space the place you’re making an attempt to do injury on the baseball,” he informed The Athletic.

YES Community play-by-play announcer Michael Kay mentioned throughout Saturday’s broadcast that the Yankees’ analytics division had carried out a examine on shortstop Anthony Volpe exhibiting he incessantly hit the ball on the label of his bat, fairly than on the barrel.

So, utilizing Leanhardt’s design, the candy spot of Volpe’s bat was moved from the barrel to the label.

Who makes the torpedo bat?

The Yankees requested pattern fashions of the torpedo model from a few of MLB’s 41 accepted bat producers, in accordance with ESPN. The mannequin numbers for the spec bats began with “BP” for bowling pin, a extra correct comp for the bat’s new form.

“Torpedo sounds form of cooler,” Leanhardt informed ESPN.

Louisville Slugger mentioned 4 groups have requested torpedo model bats from the corporate over the previous 18 months.

“Groups are analyzing each single at bat by each participant, then charting the a part of the bat the place
every participant is making contact with the ball,” the corporate mentioned Monday in a press release. “Primarily based on the situation of the vast majority of a participant’s contact on the barrel, groups are asking us to shift the load of the barrel and candy spot to accommodate every hitter.”

What’s MLB’s bat rule?

The torpedo bats don’t violate MLB’s guidelines, which state underneath 3.02: “The bat shall be a clean, spherical stick no more than 2.61 inches in diameter on the thickest half and less than 42 inches in size. The bat shall be one piece of stable wooden.”

It goes on to state there could also be a cupped indentation as much as 1 1/4 inches in depth, 2 inches huge and with not less than a 1-inch diameter, and experimental fashions should be accepted by MLB.

When was a torpedo bat first used?

Giancarlo Stanton may be remembered because the participant who formally launched MLB’s first torpedo.

A number of gamers, together with Volpe, experimented with the torpedo bat final season. But it surely was Stanton who used one to hit seven dwelling runs in 14 postseason video games through the Yankees’ run to the 2024 World Collection, per ESPN.

Following that success, torpedo bat fashions have been made accessible to members of the Yankees throughout spring coaching.

5 members of the Yankees’ lineup adopted torpedo bats throughout their 2025 opening collection, crushing a mixed 9 dwelling runs: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (three), Volpe (two), Austin Wells (two), Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger (one), who mentioned he experimented with a torpedo bat throughout batting observe final season.

Their Yankee teammate and reigning American League MVP Aaron Decide hit 4 dwelling runs over the primary three video games of the season, however he did so with a standard bat.

Which groups use torpedo bats?

The Yankees aren’t the one group utilizing torpedo bats.

Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins and the Rays’ Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz used them in Spring Coaching and through the opening weekend of the common season, per ESPN. Davis Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays makes use of one. MLB.com reported that members of the Baltimore Orioles have experimented with them. As did the Boston Purple Sox and Chicago Cubs in spring coaching, in accordance with the New York Instances.

And extra torpedos are actually on a collision course with the league.

Some pitchers, nonetheless, would possibly view the usage of torpedo bats in the identical manner batters as soon as seen the pitching mound being elevated.

“I believe it’s horrible,” Brewers nearer Trevor Megill informed the New York Put up after watching his group give up 15 dwelling runs to the Yankees. “We’ll see what the information says. I’ve by no means seen something prefer it earlier than. I really feel prefer it’s one thing utilized in slow-pitch softball.

“It’s genius: Put the mass multi function spot. It may be bush (league). It may not be. But it surely’s the Yankees, so that they’ll let it slide.”

So as to enhance equity and velocity up the sport, two new rule adjustments have been carried out for the 2025 MLB season.