Rejoice, New York Yankees fans, because torpedo bats are here to stay. That was never really in doubt. Shortly after the Yankees exploded for what felt like a million home runs in their opening series against the Milwaukee Brewers, MLB quickly confirmed the bats were compliant with the rule book.
One individual voice who had not weighed in on the situation, however, was MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. He remedied that Sunday, throwing his full support behind torpedo bats. Manfred went so far as to call them “absolutely good for baseball,” according to the New York Times.
“[Torpedo bats are] absolutely good for baseball. I believe that issues like the torpedo bat and the debate around it demonstrate the fact that baseball still occupies a unique place in our culture, because people get into a complete frenzy over something that’s really nothing at the end of the day. The bats comply with the rules. Players have actually been moving the sweet spot around in bats for years. But it just demonstrates that something about the game is more important than is captured by television ratings or revenue or any of those things, when you have the discussions and debates about it.”
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That shouldn’t come as a major surprise considering the league already backed the latest in bat technology. It also shouldn’t be a shock coming from Manfred, who has shown a willingness to experiment with the game throughout his tenure as commissioner. MLB already introduced a pitch clock and a ghost runner in extra innings during Manfred’s reign. Automated strike-zone technology could be next.
Some fans might take issue with Manfred saying people overreacted to the new bats, but he might be on to something. The Yankees — the league’s earliest adopters of torpedo bats — still have the best offense in baseball, but have been stymied by good pitching. Zac Gallen and Andrew Heaney made New York’s torpedo bats look lifeless early on. That’s not to downplay New York’s offense, which is excellent. It’s just evidence that torpedo bats aren’t a guaranteed win.
That much has been seen elsewhere across the league. Max Muncy ditched a torpedo bat to pick up a clutch hit. Francisco Lindor and Ryan Jeffers — early torpedo bat users — aren’t exactly lighting up the world with their production so far. Even some early Yankees standouts — Cody Bellinger and Austin Wells — have seen their batting averages plummet since that first series.
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As Manfred noted, players have experimented with bats in the past. A number of players have admitted to using similar bats over the past few years, though they didn’t look as extreme as the torpedo bats. St. Louis Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan and Cleveland Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas are among the players to adopt custom bats before torpedo bats became all the rage.
Ultimately, whether torpedo bats help might come down to the player. Anthony Volpe appears to be in the midst of a breakout with the new bat. Is that a function of the barrel being moved closer to his sweet spot or is it merely a case of a former top prospect finally finding his stride in the majors?
It’s going to take time to figure that out. Manfred — no stranger to experimenting with the game — is willing to see where the newest fad takes the game.
This news was originally published on this post .
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