By Matt Kane
With the start of the 2025 MLB season underway, the biggest story surrounding the sport is unsurprisingly centered around the New York Yankees and their newest invention – the torpedo bat.
This so-called “torpedo bat” is taking the baseball world by storm early in the season, as several Yankees have decided to start hitting with these unusually shaped bats.
So, what makes a torpedo bat different from the standard MLB bat? Well, torpedo bats are unique in that, the thickest part of the bat barrel is closer to the handle than “normal”, creating a noticeable bowling-pin shape.
These torpedo bats are yet again another new addition to the MLB, further contributing to the League’s evolution over the past few years. Advancements such as the pitch clock and base runners in extra innings have made the game more watchable for the vast majority of fans. That being said, the recent increase in pressure on sports to prioritize viewership has caused a significant amount of buzz regarding torpedo bats and their legality and lifespan.
Yankees’ team analyst, Aaron Learnhardt, is the mastermind behind these bats. Learnhardt is a former University of Michigan physics teacher with a Ph.d. from MIT. His past experiences, knowledge, and expertise in the field of science helped him craft these game-altering creations. The craziest part? These new bats technically stay within the rules of the game, with the rulebook stating that bats must conform within a 2.61 inch diameter.
Moreover, these bats are referred to as “torpedo bats” because they are designed with more mass towards the label, aka – the “sweet spot” of the bat, giving them a torpedo-like shape.
The reason why torpedo bats have become so wildly popular is because of one team and one team only – the New York Yankees.
Over their first three games of the 2025 season, the Yankees knocked 15 balls over the fence, with nine of them being hit courtesy of a torpedo bat.
Yankee center fielder, Jazz Chisholm, is among many on the team who are experimenting with the new design. As a result, Chisholm has already recorded four home runs and nine hits using the beefed-up bat.
While the torpedo bat feels like any ordinary bat, it also “gives you that extra confidence in your head to be able to go out there and hit anything,” Chisholm said.
As someone who is typically on the opposing side to most rule changes, I want to hate the idea of these potential power bats. However, I ultimately believe that they will benefit the sport in the end.
With other players around the League starting to test out the torpedo shape, such as Reds phenom Elly De La Cruz, it will be interesting to see how the MLB responds over the course of the season.
Overall, although it pains me and many others to see the Yankees off to a hot start, it is way too early to tell if their success in the Bronx is simply due to new tech in the dugout, or their strong team performance.
In the future, I am curious to see how pitchers will respond to the new bats. Nevertheless, for the time being, any publicity is good publicity for baseball and makes me excited to see how torpedo bats will further impact the game.