Throughout baseball history, the quest for the perfect swing has inspired frequent experimentation in bat design. Some of these creations were fleeting oddities, while others sparked lasting changes.
In the early days of the game, there were no set standards for bats, which resulted in a variety of shapes, sizes and wood types being used. While long-lasting regulations were eventually established, that hasn’t stopped innovators from pushing the boundaries.
The latest innovation making waves? The “Torpedo” bat model, which created a stir after several Yankees hitters used it during the club’s season-opening series against the Brewers, a three-game sweep that saw the Bronx Bombers hit 15 homers.
Starting with the “Torpedo” model and going back through the history of the sport, here’s a look at some of baseball’s most interesting bat creations, from the delightfully inventive to the downright unusual.
The 'Torpedo' bat
The “Torpedo” bat’s barrel rests in a non-traditional location, closer to the hitter’s hands, with a skinnier top at the end. The innovation is attributed to Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees analyst who was hired as the Marlins’ field coordinator this past winter.
After the unusual bat model drew widespread attention during the Yankees’ nine-homer barrage against the Brewers in the second game of the 2025 season, Major League Baseball confirmed that the model does not violate Major League rules or bat supplier regulations. (Rule 3.02 states that bats cannot be more than 2.61 inches in diameter and 42 inches in length.)
Axe Bats
While a typical bat has a rounded knob at its base, Axe Bats feature a slanted, asymmetrical handle, akin to an axe.
Axe Bats, which became increasingly popular in the 2010s, are designed to promote a more ergonomic grip, enhance bat speed and reduce the risk of hand and wrist injuries.
No-knob bat
The Mets’ Jeff McNeil is known for using a bat with no knob -- instead of mushrooming out near the bottom, the bat widens gradually toward the end -- believing that its unorthodox weight distribution gives him more control.
"It just feels lighter because it's so balanced," McNeil said in 2018. "The weight's throughout the bat. It's not all in the barrel."
Maple bat
While hickory was a popular wood for bat making prior to the 20th century, ash eventually emerged as baseball’s wood of choice, becoming nearly universal by the 1930s and retaining its place for decades to follow. However, that began to change in the late 1990s, when maple bats burst onto the scene.
Though Joe Carter is considered to be the first player to use a maple bat in an MLB game, Barry Bonds is widely credited with popularizing the wood. Since the start of the 21st century, the harder and denser maple has supplanted ash as the preferred wood for Major League bats.
'Zebra' bat
The St. Louis Browns’ Goose Goslin created headlines on Opening Day in 1932 when he came to the plate with a striped bat, designed to distract opposing pitchers. The colors of the bat are disputed, with some sources claiming that the stripes were black and white, like a zebra's, and others saying they were green and white.
In any case, Goslin never actually got to hit with the bat, as the umpires ruled it illegal. It was officially banned the next day by American League president William Harridge.
Thin-handle bat
Prior to the start of the Live Ball Era in 1920, bats typically had thick handles (like the one Nap Lajoie is pictured holding below), to the point where they were nearly uniform in width from handle to barrel.
Tapered bat handles gradually became more popular, with Rogers Hornsby among the first to adopt a thinner handle, believing it enabled him to get the bat head through the hitting zone more quickly.
'Bottle' bat
While Heinie Groh spent 16 years in the Majors, hit .292 lifetime and won two World Series titles -- one with the Reds and one with the Giants -- he’s best remembered for his use of the distinctive “bottle” bat.
The bat featured an unusually long barrel that tapered sharply into a thin handle.
'Banana' bat
Patented in 1890 by inventor Emile Kinst, the so-called "banana" bat featured a slight curve near its end and was designed to make the ball more difficult to catch by increasing spin on contact. Kinst's design never caught on with the baseball-playing public.