The first weekend of the MLB regular season came and went with the New York Yankees making headlines for their offensive outburst against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Yankees hit a franchise-record nine home runs in their 20-9 win over the Brewers on Saturday, with Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe among those to go deep.
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With the exception of Judge, each of the aforementioned players used new torpedo bats that were created by former Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist-turned-coach Aaron Leanhardt. The unique design is also referred to as a bowling pin bat.
There has been some chatter about the legality of the torpedo bat, but a league spokesperson said the Yankees are not breaking any MLB rules, via Brendan Kuty of The Athletic:
A Major League Baseball spokesman told The Athletic that the bats don’t break any rules.
MLB Rule 3.02 states that bats cannot be more than 2.61 inches in diameter and 42 inches in length. Players are also prohibited from using “experimental” bats “until the manufacturer has secured approval from Major League Baseball.”
The new bat is shaped like a torpedo (or bowling pin) and designed so that players can do the most damage when making contact with the untraditional barrel. In essence, the barrel of the bat has been extended.
Other teams are starting to catch wind of the torpedo bat as the Minnesota Twins’ Ryan Jeffers and Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays used it in their respective games on Sunday.
Are Dodgers using torpedo bats?
It is not believed that that any Los Angeles Dodgers players have used a torpedo bat in a game this season. However, it’s possible some players have experimented with them in batting practice or workouts.
There is always a chance that the Dodgers could catch on to the trend and begin using the torpedo bat in games later this year.
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