The Yankees' new "Torpedo" bats are the talk of baseball.
The bats -- which Major League Baseball confirmed are legal -- are defined by an untraditional barrel, which rests closer to the hitter's hands. "Torpedo" bats are designed with more wood, and thus more mass, concentrated in the area of the bat where the hitter is more likely to hit the ball. Each player touts a slightly different model, with the bat's shape specifically customed to maximize potential damage on any given swing.
Not every Yankee is on board. Aaron Judge, who blasted four home runs this weekend, is still using a traditional bat. But the "Torpedo" bats -- used by Anthony Volpe, Cody Bellinger, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., among others -- certianly seem to be a factor in the Yankees' historic start.
On Saturday, the Bombers walloped a franchise-record nine home runs in a 20-run outburst, homering on back-to-back-to-back pitches to start the game. Their onslaught continued on Sunday, when they tied the Major League record with 15 home runs in their first three games of the season.
Here are some reactions around the league to the "Torpedo" bats, which have captured everyone's attention.
Wait, those are real?
The bats look funny. And they definitely look weird. In fact, some players didn't even think that they were real, at least on first glance.
¡°I thought it was a joke at first,¡± Padres¡¯ infielder Xander Bogaerts said. ¡°You know how you can edit pictures these days. But I saw (Jazz) Chisholm had homered. I¡¯d never seen it, never heard of it. ... I thought they edited the picture, because I¡¯ve never seen anything like that.¡±
Bogaerts' teammate, Manny Machado, was similarly unaware of the bats, but the Yanks' power surge didn't escape his notice.
¡°I have no idea what they are," Machado said, drawing laughs from ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball booth during an in-game interview. "They should send a few over here if they¡¯re going to be hitting homers like that. So whoever¡¯s making ¡®em, they can send a few over to Petco with this big ballpark.¡±
Is anyone else using a "Torpedo" bat?
The Yankees have captured plenty of headlines with their use of "Torpedo" bats. But they're not the only ones deploying the strategy -- or at least thinking about it.
¡°Where you hit the ball, put some more mass in the sweet spot -- I think that¡¯s not something that¡¯s unique to the Yankees,¡± Orioles hitting coach Cody Asche said. ¡°I think a lot of teams are doing that around the league. (The Yankees) may have some more players that have adopted it at a higher rate. But I think if you were around the clubhouse, all 30 teams, you would see a guy or two that¡¯s kind of adopting a bat that¡¯s kind of fashioned more specifically to their swing.¡±
That was the case on Sunday. Rays third baseman Junior Caminero confirmed to reporters that he used a "Torpedo" bat during his pinch-hit appearance; he notched an infield single. Caminero said he will continue to use the new bat "sometimes" throughout the season.
Asche said that the Orioles have some players who have "dabbled" with the "Torpedo" bat. He also noted that the organization has "people working on it behind the scenes," too.
¡°I think that¡¯s probably the next progression in hitting -- finding out where you hit the ball in the sweet spot, putting more mass there, without changing too many things,¡± Asche said.
White Sox manager Will Venable first heard about the "Torpedo" bats Sunday morning.
"I think that everyone across the league probably now is going to be looking into using these," Venable said.
The "Torpedo" bat isn't for everyone
It seems reasonable that other teams might look to integrate "Torpedo" bats after seeing the Yankees' historic weekend. But for some teams, it's not quite a one-size-fits-all approach.
¡°At the end of the day, whatever feels best for each player,¡± Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. ¡°It¡¯s still a human that has to hit it. It¡¯s not the bat hitting the homer. ... I think that¡¯s a complete individual feel thing for each person.¡±
Among players, Judge isn't the only one with a preference for the normal bat. Padres outfielder Brandon Lockridge spent parts of eight seasons in the Yankees' farm system and tried using a "Torpedo" bat in a previous Spring Training. But he's sticking to his original bat, at least for now.
¡°I¡¯m a creature of habit,¡± Lockridge said. ¡°I like the bats I¡¯m using. ... I probably didn¡¯t give it enough of a go to really know what the benefits would have been for me personally.
"When you¡¯re going bad, it¡¯s you typically. It¡¯s not your bat. When you¡¯re hitting well, these are really good hitters performing at the highest level. I don¡¯t think using those bats is causing all the home runs.¡±
Reporters Adam Berry, AJ Cassavell, Tim Stebbins, Jake Rill, and Scott Merkin contributed reporting for this story.