Do you agree with Pat Murphy?
The New York Yankees put on a home run derby this weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers, and their use of ‘torpedo bats’ garnered a ton of attention, causing some controversy, but Brewers manager Pat Murphy firmly shut that down.
“My old a** will tell you this for sure: It ain’t the want, it’s the magician,” Pat Murphy said, via Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. “So if the bats help, I’m sure every guy in the league will be using them within a week. But I’m telling you, it’s the hitter, not the bat.”
Before Sunday’s 12-3 Yankees win, Brewers reliever Trevor Megill made it clear that he is not a fan of the torpedo bats, and said that MLB would let it slide because it is the Yankees. However, New York is not the only team to utilize these bats. Last year, Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Trevino used them, according to Phillips.
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Now, Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. were noticed as players to used them, while Austin Wells is as well. Teams like the Minnesota Twins have been seen using this type of bat as well, and Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has said that his team tried the bats in spring training.
It will be interesting to track how the Yankees and other players perform with this type of bat, and if any more information comes out on how helpful they are. The Yankees will be tested in their next two games, starting with Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks with Corbin Burnes on the mound. It does not get much easier with Zac Gallen on the mound for Wednesday’s game.
Regardless, the first weekend of the season has been a wild success for the Yankees, and the hope is that the lineup continues to produce at a high level throughout the season.
Ryan Bologna is an experienced sports writer covering the NFL, MLB, and NCAA Basketball for ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn, and has bylines at New York Sports Nation and the Greenwich Free Press.