The 2025 Major League Baseball season has only recently started. But already, it’s got lots of people talking. But what they’re talking about might come as a surprise – a strangely shaped bat, called a “torpedo bat”. Some players believe the bat will help them hit more home runs.
As the New York Yankees started their season this year, they set several records for hitting home runs. In one game, on March 29, they hit nine home runs – the most the team had ever hit in a single game. The homers caught the attention of fans – and so did the unusual bats that some of the players were using.
The bats look odd. Normally bats are thin near the handle, and get wider as they reach the “barrel” – the thick part of the bat that’s used to hit the ball.
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Baseball fans are busy talking about the new “torpedo bats”. The New York Yankees hit a record nine home runs in a game on March 29. Several of the Yankees’ homers were hit with torpedo bats. Above, Austin Wells uses a torpedo bat to hit a home run on March 29.
Torpedo bats widen out into the barrel, but then they get a thinner again toward the end of the bat. The bats look a little bit like a bowling pin, and they are sometimes called “bowling pin bats”. But the name that has caught on is “torpedo bats”. MLB says the bats are perfectly legal.
The bats were invented a few years ago by Aaron Leanhardt. Mr. Leanhardt used to be a physics professor, but now he advises pro baseball teams. After talking with batters, Mr. Leanhardt came up with the idea of moving some of the weight from the end of the bat into the area where the bat actually hits the ball.
Normal bats (bottom) are thin near the handle, and get wider as they reach the “barrel”. Torpedo bats (top), which look a little like a bowling pin, widen out into the barrel, but then they get a thinner toward the end of the bat.
(Source: [Kevin Smith](https://x.com/KJS_4/status/1906101220714152122/photo/1).)
The torpedo bat gives the player a bigger area to hit the ball with. And since the weight is closer to the batter, the bat feels lighter. This allows players to swing faster, which can mean that the ball travels farther.
Mr. Leanhardt got some bat companies to make his bats, but not many players were interested in using them. Then, last year, Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees used one to hit seven home runs leading up to, and during, the World Series. Thanks to his success with the bat, the Yankees bought more torpedo bats for their players to use.
**So Does It Work?**
So far, it’s hard to say if torpedo bats really are better for hitting home runs. There haven’t been enough people using them for long enough. But the bats have gotten a lot of players, teams, and fans excited. Companies that make baseball bats say they’re getting lots of orders.
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It’s hard to say if torpedo bats really are better for hitting home runs, but they’ve gotten a lot of players, teams, and fans excited. On Monday night, Elly De La Cruz, who plays for the Cincinnati Reds, got four hits, including two homers when he used a torpedo bat for the first time. Above, De La Cruz, after hitting a home run.
And every new home run creates more interest. On Monday night, Elly De La Cruz, who plays for the Cincinnati Reds, got four hits, including two homers when he used a torpedo bat for the first time.
But some people think that the main way the bat helps is by giving the batter more confidence. And if you’ve got plenty of confidence, maybe you don’t need a special bat.
On the night the Yankees hit nine home runs, Aaron Judge smashed three of those homers – using a regular bat. Judge says he has no plans to change bats.
**Did You Know…?**
Over the years, pitching in baseball has changed a lot. The average speed for a pitcher’s fastball these days is about 95 mph (153 kph). That’s roughly 10 mph (16 kph) faster than pitchers threw 100 years ago. Bats have gotten a little lighter, but other than that, they haven’t changed much. Until now.