Torpedo bats may have powered the Yankees to a three-game opening series sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. Aaron Leanhardt, a minor-league hitting coach for the New York Yankees, designed the torpedo bats. The torpedo bats developed by Leanhardt, an MIT-educated physics professor at the University of Michigan, are legal according to major league baseball. Basically, the torpedo bats are shaped like a bowling pin, with most of their mass in the barrel of the bat. After the Yankee’s performance, do you think that torpedo bats should be illegal?
Torpedo Bat Origin
Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo (24) celebrates with first baseman Anthony Rizzo (48) after hitting a two-run home run during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagin ImagesWhen Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit 7 home runs in 14 postseason games in 2024, he did it with one of these bats. Staton is owed as credit for the batting revolution. Leanhardt’s logic behind the torpedo bat’s geometry made sense to him, and it sped up his spring. Staton, whose average bat velocity was 81.2 mph in 2024, 3 miles per hour faster than the second fastest swing and 9 miles an hour ahead of the average velocity of major league hitter Stanton, was the first player to use the torpedo bat.
To understand how the torpedo bat works, learn some physics and swing a sledgehammer and a broom handle. The sledgehammer will be more difficult to swing because its weight is distributed to the tip. The broom handle, meanwhile, can be swung with speed but does not contain significant mass. If the length and weight of bats are constants, the mass distribution is the variable. The torpedo bat has most of the mass in the barrel near the sweet spot. Balls hit there will go further. Balls hit off the skinnier handle, or the end of the bat will not be hit hard.
The Yankees tied a major league record with 15 home runs over their first three games this weekend in the demolition of the Milwaukee Brewers. Nine home runs came from five Yankees who adopted the torpedo bats. They are Jazz Chisholm Jr. (three), Anthony Volpe (two), Austin Wells (two), Cody Bellinger (one) and Paul Goldschmidt (one). The controversy over the torpedo bats started almost immediately after Yankees announcer Michael Kay noted their shape on the game’s broadcast. By the end of the weekend, players around the league were inquiring to bat manufacturers about getting their hands on one. More and more of them will use these bats.
Bats Through the Years
The Yankees deserved some credit for innovating these bats. However, soon, everyone will use them, and there will be no more advantages. That does beg the question of the evolution of bats in baseball. Babe Ruth swung a 36-inch, 44-ounce bat. After that era, bats gradually got lighter. College players use the superior aluminum bats. The torpedo bats are now the newest evolution in hitting technology at the major league level.
Leanhardt Now
Leonhardt left the New York Yankees, where he was a major league analyst during the 2024 season. Currently, he is the major league field coordinator for the Miami Marlins. It is likely, given his accomplishments, that he will continue to move up the food chain.
Conclusion
These torpedo bats will likely be used by everybody soon. This is given the Yankees incredible statistics; they did tie a major league baseball record with 15 home runs in their first three games. Yankee slugger Aaron Judge, it should be pointed out in conclusion, did not use the bowling pin style of the bat on his way to 4 opening series home runs.
