New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

After Yankees' hot start, will other teams start using torpedo bats?

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Mar 31, 2025 12:32 PM ET

After the New York Yankees steamrolled the Milwaukee Brewers in their opening three-game series, will their new torpedo bats become standard in Major League Baseball?

The bats — which are legal, per MLB — feature a barrel that rests closer to the hitter's hands, with more wood in the area where he's more likely to hit the ball.

Per The Athletic's Brendan Kuty, Marlins field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt — an MIT physicist who used to work for the Yankees — helped create the bats. His design clearly works.

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

In the Yankees' first three games at home against the Brewers, they scored 36 runs while mashing 15 homers. In a 20-9 victory on Saturday, New York (3-0) had a franchise-record nine dingers in a game.

The Yankees' drubbing of the Brewers (0-3) convinced the Atlanta Braves (0-4) they needed torpedo bats. During Atlanta's 5-0 loss against the San Diego Padres (4-0) on Sunday, ESPN's Buster Olney reported the Braves had "placed an order" for the bats (h/t Sports Illustrated's Tim Capurso).

"Guys are going to be trying it out now. ...I might try it just to feel what it's like," Braves first baseman Matt Olson, a two-time All-Star, told The Athletic's Sam Blum in a story published Monday.

Olson isn't the only one who wants to get his hands on the torpedo bat.

"I have no idea what they are," Padres third baseman Manny Machado told ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" during an in-game interview (h/t MLB.com's Jared Greenspan). "They should send a few over here if [the Yankees] are going to be hitting homers like that. So whoever's making 'em, they can send a few over to Petco with this big ballpark."

The Yankees aren't the only team with access to torpedo bats. According to Blum, the Chicago Cubs (2-4) have used the bats. Through its first six games, Chicago ranks fourth in baseball in runs (25).

Figure on more teams investing in the new bats. On Sunday, Chicago White Sox Manager Will Venable said he expects every team to explore using them, via Greenspan.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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