NEW YORK -- Much of the baseball world learned about the existence of ¡°Torpedo¡± bats this past week. Giancarlo Stanton was ahead of the curve.
The Yankees designated hitter swung one frequently last year, including the postseason, when he cracked seven home runs and was named Most Valuable Player of the American League Championship Series against the Guardians.
¡°It¡¯s something that makes a lot of sense, but it¡¯s like, why hasn¡¯t anyone thought of it in 100-plus years?¡± Stanton said.
Though Stanton has suggested that ¡°bat adjustments¡± made last season could be responsible for the epicondylitis (or tennis elbow) he is experiencing in both arms, Stanton said Tuesday he plans to continue using a Torpedo when he returns from the injured list.
Asked if the Torpedo bat referred to the changes Stanton mentioned on March 8 in Tampa, Fla., he replied: ¡°You¡¯re not going to get the story you¡¯re looking for. So if that¡¯s what you guys want, that isn¡¯t going to happen.¡±
But there¡¯s plenty to talk about, with Torpedos being used by five active Yankees (Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells), and several others around the Major Leagues.
The innovation bears similarity to a bowling pin and has been largely attributed to Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees analyst who was hired as the Marlins¡¯ field coordinator this past winter.
Stanton was an early adopter. After weeks of trial and error against simulated high-velocity pitching last season, he settled on a model that replicated the weight and length of his 2023-era bat, but with the barrel relocated from its traditional position.
¡°To explain simply, you try it as long as it¡¯s comfortable in your hands,¡± Stanton said. ¡°We¡¯re creatures of habit, so that¡¯s got to feel kind of like a glove or an extension of your arm. So as long as the balance points and all that are good, you¡¯ve got to mess around with it and play with how big or small you want the barrel.¡±
The results were excellent, especially in October, though Stanton downplayed the effect of the bat design.
¡°I don¡¯t know what the numbers say, but it¡¯s not like it was unreal all of a sudden for me,¡± Stanton said.
Or, as Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Sunday¡¯s game: ¡°It ain¡¯t the wand, it¡¯s the magician.¡±
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he has been amused by the continuing discussion of the bats, prompted by a weekend in which his club blasted 15 home runs in a three-game series against Milwaukee.
(AL Player of the Week Aaron Judge hit four homers; Judge does not use the Torpedo and said he has no interest in trying one.)
¡°I¡¯m starting to smile at it a little more. It¡¯s taken on a life of its own,¡± Boone said. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things that aren¡¯t real. I really just look at it as the evolution of equipment. We went and got fitted for golf clubs 10 years ago; this is essentially that. It¡¯s all within regulation.
¡°There¡¯s a lot more to it than just, ¡®I¡¯ll take the Torpedo bat on the shelf over there, 34 [inches], 32 [ounces].¡¯ Our guys are way more invested in it than that. It¡¯s really personalized. We really work with our players in creating this stuff.¡±
As he works to return from the elbow injuries that cost him all of Spring Training and prompted three rounds of platelet-rich plasma injections, Stanton said he has been hitting off a Trajekt pitching machine ¡°to catch up¡± and that his grip strength is improving, though he continues to feel pain in his elbows.
¡°That will be a constant,¡± said Stanton, who was also playing through discomfort last season and noted improvement following the PRP injections.
Stanton said he expects to play in Minor League rehab games before being activated, though no dates have been circled for that yet.
¡°How long, I don¡¯t know,¡± Stanton said. ¡°This is very unique. I definitely haven¡¯t missed a full spring before. It¡¯ll just depend on my timing, how fast I can feel comfortable in the box against live pitching.¡±