The baseball season started with a bang. While fans were excited for America’s pastime to be back, it literally started with a bang. Fans saw the Yankees outscore the Brewers 47-15 in a four-game sweep.
While the offensive output was impressive, fans were obsessed with the bats that some of the New York players were using. The barrels were enlarged, and social media dubbed them as “torpedo bats.” Because the bats looked so different than regular bats, opposing fans were quick to call the Yankees out for cheating. Unfortunately for them, not only was New York not cheating, but its players weren’t the only ones using the legal torpedo bats on opening weekend.
Science and math has woven its way into the very fabric of the game of baseball. Everyone is looking for any edge they can have, and the torpedo bats play right into that. They look weird with an enlarged barrel, but they fit within the requirements of the MLB. Plus, not every player is using them.
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Still, with the results from the Yankees to begin the 2025 season, we likely will see more of these torpedo bats around the league. Here is more information on what they are, the benefit they bring and who is using them.
What are torpedo bats?
Hitters always talk about wanting to hit the “sweet spot” of the bat, which usually refers to the large part of the barrel. Some players hit well, but tend to make contact lower on the bat near the label. The torpedo bat was designed to move the logo up on the bat, creating a larger barrel and making the bat look more like a bowling pin at the end.
The idea is that it will allow players to barrel the ball more, leading to a better chance for successful results. The design does shift the weight in the barrel, so not every player likes how it feels when they swing it.
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Who invented the torpedo bat?
The torpedo bat was invented by Aaron Leanhardt. If you aren’t familiar with the name now, don’t worry, if the torpedo bat continues its success in baseball, the name could go down in history for changing the game. Leanhardt graduated from MIT as a physicist and worked at the University of Michigan for seven years as a professor.
Aaron Leanhardt, the mastermind behind the Yankees torpedo bats, has one of the craziest career pivots ever.
• Earned a PhD from MIT
• Worked on a NASA-funded research team
• Physics professor at Michigan for 7 yearsLeanhardt then left academics (at 40 years old) to pursue… pic.twitter.com/0DVPv241RV
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) March 31, 2025
He left academics specifically to pursue a career solving problems at the intersection of sports and science. The question posed to him was how can offense keep up with the steps forward pitchers had been taking. Leanhardt decided that the best way to do this was for hitters to have a longer barrel. While sticking with the requirements set forth by the MLB, the torpedo bat was created.
MORE YANKEES: Yankees tie MLB record with 15 home runs in first three games
Torpedo bats vs. regular bats
Typically, the barrel of the bat sits about six to seven inches below the tip of a baseball bat. The torpedo bat extends the barrel further toward the handle. This makes the bat thicker, but then it tapers off a little at the end creating the torpedo effect.
Torpedo Bat Basics 🧵 (3/7)
Traditional bat: fat at the end, skinnier by the handle. Torpedo bat: thickens near the label, tapers sharply at the tip—like a bowling pin. It’s built to maximize the hitter’s sweet spot, rather than adjust to squaring up at the textbook sweet spot. pic.twitter.com/KB20Q01wHM
— Erik Stoltz (@stoltze22) March 30, 2025
Are the Yankees’ bats legal?
Yep. The torpedo bats used by the Yankees during opening weekend fall within the regulations set forth by the MLB, so they are in fact legal.
MLB bat rules
MLB Rule 3.02 states, “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.” As long as the bat falls within these loose parameters, it is legal.
Which Yankees are using the new bats?
The only Yankees that were using the torpedo bats to start the weekend were Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm. By the end of the weekend, Paul Goldschmidt, Austin Wells and Cody Bellinger had used the bats at some point.
New York was heavily criticized by fans who thought the team was cheating. Chisholm has never shied away from responding when called out, so he posted to X about the benefit of the bat and re-iterated that it is a legal adjustment to the bat.
Okay explanation the barrel is bigger and within mlb regulation! For the idiots that say it’s moved to the label you’re an idiot! Nobody is trying to get jammed you just move the wood from the parts you don’t use to the parts you do! You’re welcome no more stress for y’all !
— Jazz Chisholm Jr (@j_chisholm3) March 31, 2025
Is Aaron Judge using the new bat?
Nope. The perennial MVP candidate isn’t using the torpedo bat, and offered a pretty great reason as to why. Judge said, “What I did the past couple of seasons speaks for itself. Why try to change something if you have something that’s working?”
As Chisholm put it on X, “Judge got over 300 home runs and 3 mvps you know for damn sure he’s not using them.’
MLB players using torpedo bats in 2025
Here are the MLB players confirmed to be using the torpedo bat so far in 2025, per Yahoo Sports.
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Adley Rutschman, C, Baltimore Orioles
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Jose Trevino, C, Cincinnati Reds
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Dansby Swanson, SS, Chicago Cubs
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Nico Hoerner, 2B, Chicago Cubs
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Ryan Jeffers, C, Minnesota Twins
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Francisco Lindor, SS, New York Mets
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Cody Bellinger, OF, New York Yankees
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Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B, New York Yankees
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Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, New York Yankees
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Anthony Volpe, SS, New York Yankees
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Austin Wells, C, New York Yankees
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Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
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Davis Schneider, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
