The Athletic
If you have seen an MLB game lately, then you have most likely heard about the new, revolutionary, unique torpedo bats. They have taken the league by storm and have received fame for their interesting, odd shape. Invented by Aaron Leanhardt, the Miami Marlins’ field coordinator, these bats are now increasingly being used around the league and have sparked offenses in almost every lineup, especially the Yankees. With the torpedo bats, in the first four games of the regular season, the New York Yankees hit a record-breaking total of 18 home runs, 9 of which came in one game!
You may be wondering how a field coordinator for the Marlins came up with this game-changing invention. Before bringing his mind to the baseball world, Leanhardt was a former physicist with a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology! He designed the bats while working with the Yankees (before the Marlins) and observed the common points where different players hit the ball with the bat. Then, through the Yankees’ advanced swing analysis technology, Leanhardt had the idea to shift the barrel’s mass to the area where a respective hitter makes contact with the ball the most. This gives the bat its torpedo-like shape.
Not only Yankees players have used the torpedo bat, but players all over the league, such as the Baltimore Orioles’ starting catcher, Adley Rutschman; the Chicago Cubs’ starting shortstop, Dansby Swanson; and the Cincinnati Reds’ starting shortstop, Elly De La Cruz. In De La Cruz’s first game using the torpedo bat, he hit 4-for-5 with two home runs and seven total runs batted in!
Now, the main question that has sparked controversy around the league and baseball media is will the torpedo bat get banned by MLB (because of its enlarged barrel appearance)? Some people, such as American businessman David Portnoy and Brewers’ reliever Trevor Megill, have argued that these bats will change the nature of baseball and ruin the integrity of the game. However, Major League Baseball and its commissioner, Robert Manfred, have shown no signs of banning the torpedo bats. The league has confirmed that the bats are perfectly legal in diameter, as the current rules state bats cannot have more than a 2.61-inch diameter. In fact, the torpedo bats have the exact same diameter as the maximum length in the rules!
Since the torpedo bats have made offenses explode in the MLB, maybe they will be brought to younger age levels. Maybe, in the future, the torpedo bats will be used in high schools all over the country, even at Windermere Prep!