You're going to hear a lot about "torpedo bats" in the coming days, and perhaps most of this MLB season if the New York Yankees and other users of this funky new equipment keep launching souvenirs out of ballparks.
Here's how Yahoo Sports' Jack Baer described the bats that went viral over this past weekend and grabbed your attention:
Apparently, the Yankees have crafted a new sort of bat that reallocates some of the wood lower down on the barrel, putting more mass in the area that actually strikes the ball. It basically makes the end of the bat more shaped like a bowling pin.
To be clear, the bats are LEGAL. Sorry, Yankees haters.
Here's what a few folks, mostly players, had to say about the bats across MLB to various publications covering them:
Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees shortstop: "I know I’m bought in. The bigger you can have the barrel where you hit the ball, it makes sense to me."
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees third baseman: "It doesn't feel like a different bat, it just helps you in a little way, I guess."
Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees outfielder: “I started swinging this one in spring or before spring, kind of early on, and I was like, ‘Oh it feels good.’ It was an ounce lighter than the one I was swinging, but I think the way the weight was distributed felt really good.”
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees outfielder: "What I did the past couple of seasons speaks for itself. Why try to change something if you have something that’s working?"
