An early storyline to the 2025 season has been the torpedo bat craze that is taking Major League Baseball by storm.
The New York Yankees hit a franchise-record nine home runs in their 20-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers last week, which saw Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells go yard with the bowling pin-shaped bat.
“I just saw a picture of it, but I don’t know the benefits,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the torpedo bat. “I don’t really know who’s using them. I haven’t really spent too much time on it.”
The torpedo bat was created by former Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist-turned-coach Aaron Leanhardt. It is designed so that players can do the most damage when making contact with the untraditional barrel.
“I wouldn’t say totally surprising,” Roberts answered when asked if he is surprised that teams are still finding new ways to improve.
“I guess it’s surprising in one sense where baseball is very tradition-driven. But I do think that trying to figure out any competitive advantage, maximize something, a product, is not a bad thing.
“And so certainly nowadays, there’s a lot more open-minded players if it gives them a chance to perform better.”
There has been some chatter about the legality of the torpedo bat, but a league spokesperson said the unusual lumber design does not break any MLB rules.
“There’s a lot of regulations that a bat has to go through to be able to be Major League Baseball approved, and so for it to pass all those things is sort of surprising, given how it looks, and something that I think just wasn’t on anyone’s radar,” Roberts said.
“So that kind of just came out of nowhere, but I’m sure they went through the right protocols, obviously. So that’s surprising in that sense.”
With the use of torpedo bats expected to increase over the course of the season, Roberts believes pitchers are already trying to find ways to limit their effectiveness.
“I think they’re starting to gather information on what pitches, locations, could potentially combat a Torpedo bat. I’m sure they’re doing their due diligence as well right now,” Roberts said.
Are Dodgers using torpedo bats?
While players from other teams are starting to experiment with the torpedo bat, no one from the Los Angeles Dodgers has used it in a game this season.
However, Max Muncy and Kiké Hernández are among the Dodgers who will at least test the torpedo bat in batting practice or workouts.
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