Torpedo bats are making a lot of noise
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The New York Times |
By the end of the Reds’ 14-3 rout of the Texas Rangers on Monday night, the 23-year-old slugger had used it to go 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and seven RBIs.
Houston Chronicle |
A bat with a wider barrel sometimes referred to as a torpedo bat sits next to a normal bat during the first inning of MLB baseball game against the Washington Nationals, in Toronto, Monday, March 31, ...
Chicago Tribune |
“The swings were hitting the thickness of the torpedo as opposed to the end of the bat.”
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ESPN recently spoke to Bobby Hillerich, vice president of production at Hillerich & Bradsby which makes Louisville Slugger bats, about the surge of torpedo bats this season. He admitted that all 30 MLB teams had requested the bats by the middle of this week, after the Yankees' nine home run game last Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
MIT physicist Aaron Leanhardt has been credited with creating the torpedo bats. Leanhardt previously served as a hitting analyst with the Yankees before he joined the Miami Marlins as a field coordinator in the offseason.
Developed by a physicist, these bats have their widest part, called the barrel, closer to the player's hands to offer a better chance of hitting the ball on their "sweet spot"
Baseball bat manufacturers had little evidence to suggest a spike in sales was just around the corner when Major League Baseball’s newest season opened last week.
Of note is how D-backs pitchers handled the five Yankees who are known to be using the torpedo bat: Anthony Volpe and Paul Goldschmidt, who bat righty, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger and Austin Wells, who bat lefty.
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Torpedo bats are just the latest innovation in the design of baseball bats, some of which stuck, and others which ... did not.
By now, you’ve probably heard about baseball’s greatest innovation since the curveball: MLB’s new “torpedo” bat, the reconfigured bat that moves the barrel — or the sweet spot — closer to the handle, seemingly turning even the most meager of hitters into home run machines.
"I think it’s an amazing discovery," said Angels outfielder Taylor Ward, one of many players suddenly interested in the new bats.
Players expected to use a Torpedo Bat tonight: Elly De La Cruz (CIN) Jose Trevino (CIN) Dansby Swanson (CHC) Nico Hoerner (CHC) Ryan Jeffers (MIN) Francisco Lindor (NYM) Anthony Volpe (NYY) Austin Wells (NYY) Cody Bellinger (NYY) Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY) Paul Goldschmidt (NYY)…