New York Yankees’ Cody Bellinger (35) smiles after crossing home plate after hitting a home run … More
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Through the first eight hours and 54 minutes of the new season, the New York Yankees are up to 36 runs and 15 home runs.
The home runs traveled a combined 5,897 feet; including the nine on Saturday when the Yankees set a team record and joined the 1987 Toronto Blue Jays (Sept. 14, 1987 at Baltimore) and the 1999 Cincinnati Reds (Sept. 4, 1999 at Philadelphia).
Some of those home runs were also torpedoed into the seats, not in the literal sense but in the type of equipment that complies with MLB rules about barrels having a circumference of no more than 2.61 inches.
The Yankees seemingly newfound “torpedo bats” were a major trending topic before and during Sunday afternoon when the Yankees completed their impressive sweep over the Milwaukee Brewers in their first meaningful games since Juan Soto left for a massive 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets.
While the concept of a bat designed with the barrel closer to the batter’s hands may seem new, creating an edge within the framework of the rules for bats is hardly a new topic even it became such a massive thing that even ABC World News mentioned it as the penultimate story on Sunday’s evening broadcast.
“We have a big organization that are invested in a lot of different things where we’re trying to be better in every possible way,” said manager Aaron Boone, who hit one of the Reds’ nine homers at Veterans Stadium in 1999. “The reality is, it’s all within Major League standards. It’s 2025 so it’s different and we can account for things a lot better.
“When I played, I probably used six, seven, eight different model bats throughout my career. Within a season, I used a different shaped bat for a lefty, a different one for a righty. Those things aren’t new. They’re just more people pouring into trying to optimize guys as best as we can.”
Back when Boone was going through his different models, the Reds in all probability did not employ a former MIT physicist in their front office like the Yankees did with Aaron Leonhardt, who worked for the team before joining the Miami Marlins and is credited with the idea.
At least half of the Yankees’ regular lineup is using them as Jazz Chisholm Jr, Anthony Volpe, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells combined for nine of the 15 homers.
It went unnoticed during the season opening 4-2 win but became a popular topic when Michael Kay discussed it during Saturday’s YES Network in a game when non-torpedo bat user Aaron Judge hit three for the third time in his career.
New York Yankees’ Anthony Volpe hits a solo home run during the second inning an opening-day … More
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The idea for those using them is to get the placebo of more power as Volpe put it. Volpe was among the enthusiasts after dropping from 21 homers as a rookie when he batted .209 to 12 last season when he finished with a .243 average.
“The concept makes so much sense. I know I’m bought in,” Volpe said. “The bigger you can have the barrel where you hit the ball, it makes sense to me.”
Bellinger said the concept was first brought to his attention during a batting practice session when he was with the Chicago Cubs. Still skeptical, Bellinger declined the chance to use him and shortly after his trade to the Yankees, the 2019 National League MVP converted into a believer after seeing a more advanced model.
“The benefit for me is, I like the weight distribution,” Bellinger said. “Personally, the weight is closer to my hands, so I feel as if it’s lighter in a way. For me, that was the biggest benefit. Obviously, the bigger the sweet spot, the bigger the margin for error.”
New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. prepares to bat during the first inning of a baseball game … More
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Even more enthusiasm came from the postgame comments of Chisholm, who homered twice after Judge drew a walk.
“I love my bat, you know what I mean?” Chisholm said. “I think you can tell it’s working pretty well for me.”
While others use them and have fun with them, you can count on Judge not using them, something he confirmed Sunday morning while showing bemusement about it being such a talking point.
And it is hard to argue since he hit 52 homers with a torpedo in 2017, an AL-record 62 in 2022 and 58 more last season when he threatened to break his own record.
“What I’ve done the past couple of seasons speaks for itself,” Judge said after Bellinger and Volpe addressed the new lumber.
Even with the change in bat type, it still comes down to executing from pitchers and batters, which is among the reasons, Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy did not seem flustered by repeated questioning about the sudden stir.
“It’s a bat that’s legal,” Murphy said. “It’s not, like, some magical wood or anything else. It’s just built with the weight in a different spot. And it’s proven to be effective for the Yankees this weekend. I think there’s other things that were in play there. They’re really good hitters, and if pitchers want to get annoyed, then the hitters win.”