by Kordell Booth

Baseball is back. With opening week happening just two weeks ago, everyone was excited to see their favorite players and teams back in action, but one star rises above all else — torpedo bats. These bowling-pin shaped bats became the talk of the sport after the New York Yankees put up a franchise record nine home runs and twenty runs against the Milwaukee Brewers, which is what incited this whole conversation about the torpedo bats. But you might still be wondering: What is a torpedo bat? How does it help hitters? And how is it legal? 

The idea of the torpedo bat is to take the size format of a normal bat and distribute the wood in a different shape to make sure that the thickest part of the bat is located to where the player can make the most contact. Most standard bats in the MLB Standard bats get thinner toward the end, but the tip is still about as wide as the sweet spot. The torpedo bat changes that by moving some of the weight down the barrel, about six to seven inches from the end. This gives it a bowling-pin shape with a much slimmer tip.

The benefit of the bat, for the players that like using it, is that it helps them make more contact with the ball. This is because the bat is specifically designed for each player and which part of the bat they make the most contact with. The second benefit is increased ball speed off the bat. Imagine you have a sledgehammer and a broomstick, and both weigh the same—let’s say thirty-two ounces. The sledgehammer has most of its weight at one end, while the broomstick’s weight is spread out evenly. Which one is easier to swing quickly? The broomstick! That’s because the sledgehammer’s shape makes it harder and takes more effort to move fast. This is the same science that the torpedo bat has. If you shed off some of the weight from the end of the bat and move it towards the middle, it makes the bat weight easily distributed, which will impact how fast the ball comes off your bat.

So, how is this bat legal? Doesn’t it give the Yankees an unfair advantage? Well right now the MLB has pretty relaxed rules for bats. They can be up to 2.61 inches wide, forty-two inches long, and must be smooth and round. Because the rules aren’t very strict, bat makers can experiment with different shapes and still stay within the guidelines. 

My opinion on torpedo bats is very simple. Let the players use them. I understand why you wouldn’t agree to that, but let me explain. If every MLB team has access to these bats, then why shouldn’t they be allowed to use them? It’s not like it’s only the Yankees, it’s also teams like the  Mets, Phillies, and even the World Series Champions L.A. Dodgers. It would be cheating if they were breaking the rules, but they’re not. This bat is just giving players the opportunities to get more hits and more home runs, which is something most fans want to see. This bat could change the game of baseball and honestly, probably for the better. 

I don’t see why every major league player can’t use the bat if it’s just going to improve the game. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I think, it matters what the players think. Comfort is key when it comes to a bat. Players try out bats during practice and batting cage sessions before using them in real games. Over time, they figure out which shapes feel best and match their swing—kind of like how golfers get custom clubs. But make no mistake: this change is happening fast. And “traditional or torpedo” is a question every big leaguer going forward will ask himself. And if he chooses tradition, he might just find himself left in the torpedo dust.