The Yankees' torpedo bats, explained: Everything to know about them

[ASFN Admin]

The New York Yankees have stirred up controversy to start the 2025 MLB season, even though what they're doing is perfectly legal.

It's been revealed that the Yankees are using new custom bats known as "torpedo" bats, which have more wood at the label to give a larger spot to the area where players make contact. They've hit so many home runs to start the season, but it's a very small sample size. Is it the bats? Or is it that the Milwaukee Brewers' pitching is just THAT bad?

So as the buzz about the bats continues to swirl, consider this your guide to the torpedo bats with everything you need to know as either the Yankees continue to hit dingers with them, or other teams begin to copycat:

What is a torpedo bat?​

You can see it in the video: the area below the barrel is fatter! That's helping those players who hit in that area to make more contact.

Michael Kay explains that the Yankees made new bats "where they moved a lot of the wood into the label so the harder part of the bat is going to strike the ball."

Seems relevant today... pic.twitter.com/cpldzigdrT

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 29, 2025

Who invented the torpedo bat?​

Say hello to Aaron Leanhardt. He's a former MIT physicist who worked in the Yankees' minor-league system.

Yes, the Yankees have a literal genius MIT Physicist, Lenny (who is the man), on payroll. He invented the “Torpedo” barrel. It brings more wood - and mass - to where you most often make contact as a hitter. The idea is to increase the number of “barrels” and decrease misses. pic.twitter.com/CsC1wkAM9G

— Kevin Smith (@KJS_4) March 29, 2025

Here's more from The Athletic:

Talking to players over the years revealed that their biggest concerns were twofold, Leanhardt said. They wanted to make more contact with pitches and they wanted to strike the ball more often with the bat’s “sweet spot,” or the densest area.

“They’re going to point to a location on the bat that is probably six or seven inches down from the tip of the bat,” he said. “That’s where the sweet spot typically is. It’s just through those conversations where you think to yourself, why don’t we exchange how much wood we’re putting on the tip versus how much we’re putting in the sweet spot? That’s the original concept right there. Just try to take all that excess weight and try to put it where you’re trying to hit the ball and then in exchange try to take the thinner diameter that used to be at the sweet spot and put that on the tip.”

Are the torpedo bats illegal?​

Nope! MLB said they were legal and here's the rule:

The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood. NOTE: No laminated or experimental bats shall be used in a professional game (either championship season or exhibition games) until the manufacturer has secured approval from Major League Baseball of his design and methods of manufacture.

What have opponents said about the Yankees' torpedo bats?​

So far, we've got this from Brewers pitcher Trevor Megill:

“I think it’s terrible. We’ll see what the data says. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I feel like it’s something used in slow-pitch softball. It’s genius: put the mass all in one spot. It might be bush-[league]. It might not be. But it’s the Yankees, so they’ll let it slide.”

Is every Yankees hitter using the torpedo bats?​

Nope. Aaron Judge is sticking with his usual bat, which makes sense:

Aaron Judge has less than zero interest in using the new torpedo bats.

"What I did the past couple of seasons speaks for itself. Why try to change something if you have something that’s working?"

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) March 30, 2025

Will other MLB teams start using the torpedo bats?​

We'll see!

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Yankees' torpedo bats, explained: Everything to know about them

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