At this point, saying there is drama in Major League Baseball is like saying the sky is blue. Either somebody rags on another player in the press or alleges an entire team is cheating, just for a batter to get hit by a fastball the next game. It’s routine.
It only took the New York Yankees three games to draw controversy to their organization with their brand-new torpedo bats, and many critics of the franchise aren’t pleased. In their sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Yankees scored a total 36 runs over the course of their three wins, 15 of which were home runs.
Despite their record-breaking performance, many fans began to notice the interesting shape of certain hitters’ bats, and questioned if they complied with MLB’s regulations. Players have begun using torpedo-shaped bats, where the barrel is closer to the batter’s hands. The non-traditional style of the bat took many by surprise, but good news for Yankee fans: they’re legal.
MLB’s regulations state under Rule 3.02, “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.”
The rules also clarify that the bat must be two inches wide and one inch in diameter. The suddenly popular torpedo bats comply with all MLB rules. Despite the newfound attention that this special bat is receiving, it is not its first time being used in professional baseball.
Cody Bellinger, a new addition to the Yankees’ roster, admitted that he first used the torpedo-shaped bat last year with the Chicago Cubs during batting practice, but not in any actual games. This season, players from the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins, among other teams, have begun using the new bat.
The apparent genius behind this whole operation is Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist and current Marlins’ field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt, along with the Yankees’ analytics team and front office. The innovation grew from studying shortstop Anthony Volpe’s batting habits, which indicated his frequency of hitting the label on the bat instead of the barrel. To solve his hitting problem, they ordered bats with more wood concentrated towards the center of the bat and a skinnier top.
“The concept makes so much sense. I know I’m bought in,” said Volpe. “The bigger you can have the barrel where you hit the ball, it makes sense to me.”
Volpe added how the bats usually pique the interest of other players, saying, “Every time I’m on base, guys are asking about it.”
Volpe isn’t the only player who has “bought in” to these newly developed bats. In their 20-run onslaught against the Brewers, four other players in the lineup used these bats, including Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells.
Aaron Boone defended the change in his players’ practices, even if the change is small.
“I say to you guys all the time, we’re trying to win on the margins,” Boone said. He continued, “We have a big organization that is invested in a lot of different things, where we’re trying to be better in every possible way.”
Despite the divide in MLB fans as to whether this will hurt or help the league, change is definitely coming whether it’s big or small.
bkeatin1@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @yankees, Instagram
