This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola¡¯s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MIAMI -- A couple weeks ago when torpedo bats took Major League Baseball by storm, field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt hinted that the Marlins would soon be using them.
During Miami¡¯s four-run fifth inning in Friday¡¯s series opener against Washington, every RBI came on a torpedo bat: Xavier Edwards¡¯ two-run single and Kyle Stowers¡¯ two-run double.
Stowers, who expressed his interest to Leanhardt early in Spring Training, had already been considering a torpedo bat with Orioles assistant general manager Sig Mejdal entering the 2024 season.
Old Hickory sent Stowers his shipment last weekend in Atlanta, and he hasn¡¯t gone back to regular bats ever since. But did he have any reservations to test them out in a game?
¡°In the back of my head, sure, but we do different tools in the cage,¡± Stowers said. ¡°For years we've done different stuff: weighted bats, end load, handle load, light bats. You use so many different tools to find that barrel. At the end of the day, it's not all that much different. That's what I told myself is, ¡®Don't think about it and trust it.¡¯¡±
Edwards¡¯ shipment from TUCCI arrived at 11:30 a.m. ET ahead of Wednesday¡¯s series finale against the Mets at Citi Field. He wasted no time using the bat, going 1-for-3 with two walks.
¡°It feels a little lighter, but the handle's the same,¡± Edwards said. ¡°It's the same model. The weight's distributed a little different.¡±
The idea behind the torpedo bat is to move wood from parts of the bat that aren¡¯t used to where they do in terms of making contact with the ball. Stowers, for example, noted that Friday¡¯s double down the line was off the end, while his other two swings were more on the inside part of the barrel, where you want it.
Though Stowers and Edwards are using versions made by their bat companies, some specifically designed by Leanhardt are on the way. Through the first two games of the weekend series with the Nationals, they have combined to go 8-for-16 with two walks, two doubles, one triple, four RBIs.
Stowers and Edwards aren¡¯t actually the first Marlins to try out a torpedo bat. Derek Hill did so during the first week of the season to little fanfare. It was only a matter of time before his teammates would join in. Big league camp was a feeling-out process with so many new faces, so Leanhardt only briefly mentioned his invention.
Torpedo bats fall in line with the organization¡¯s modus operandi of innovation under president of baseball operations Peter Bendix.
¡°He's a brilliant mind who has a lot of really, really good ideas, and he also understands and connects with players really well,¡± Bendix said. ¡°It's a unique combination. The way he connects with players, in addition to being very smart and very interesting, that's what really makes him special.¡±
Added manager Clayton McCullough: ¡°Well deserved. Lenny is brilliant. Innovation is something here that we are, and have been, pushing. Lenny certainly brings a lot of innovative ideas. Lenny is that and some other things [like] in-game strategy. Lenny has a lot of great thoughts. [It¡¯s a] big reason why we wanted someone with Lenny's ilk and his talent be on our staff.