While baseball is a game on the cutting edge of data analysis, rarely has it resulted in notable changes to equipment, at least nothing like what has happened recently with the so-called “torpedo bat.”
The oddly shaped bat came to the forefront a few days ago after three New York Yankees crushed nine home runs in one night, just one short of the major league record set by the Blue Jays against Baltimore in 1987.
Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. would all go yard using the newfangled torpedo bats in New York’s 20-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
On Monday, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz decided to try his luck with a torpedo bat, and finished the game with two home runs and seven RBIs as Cincinnati dismissed the Texas Rangers by a score of 14-3.
It turns out the bat, which is gaining traction among the pros, has a Canadian connection.
What makes the torpedo bat different?
Miami Marlins coordinator Aaron Leanhardt, who in a past life was a physics professor, has been credited with designing the bat.
A bat with a wider barrel sometimes referred to as a torpedo bat sits next to a normal bat during the first inning of MLB baseball action against the Washington Nationals, in Toronto, Monday, March 31, 2025.
Thomas Skrlj/The Canadian Press
The bats shape appears closer to that of a bowling pin, as wood is moved down lower on the barrel after the label, essentially adding the wood to the so-called sweet spot for the batter.
Leanhardt, who joined the Marlins from the Yankees last summer, said he began designing the bat two years ago. He said several versions were tested that didn’t create the desired effect, but players around the game were asking him about it.
“The industry as a whole was probably a little bit more aware of this maybe than (reporters) were,” Leanhardt told The Associated Press recently. “Guys have been asking me about it. Guys have been wanting to swing them.”
With home run totals piling up, Leanhardt was not taking any credit for the early-season success.
“At the end of the day it’s about the batter, not the bat,” he told reporters. “It’s about the hitter and their hitting coaches. I’m happy to always help those guys get a little bit better but ultimately it’s up to them to put good swings and grind it out every day. So, credit to those guys.”
While the bats are causing a stir early in the season, they still fall inside MLB rules and Blue Jays manager John Schneider does not seem to worried about how the new bats might affect the game.
“I think it’s just the game evolving with technology and the times really,” Schneider told the Canadian Press.
Who is using torpedo bats?
It has been reported that around 16 players are using the oddly-shaped bats at the moment, including the aforementioned Yankees as well as Toronto utilityman Davis Schneider, who has been up to the plate five times this season and has yet to record a hit.
He has already lent one to Jays third baseman Ernie Clement, who has been trying it at batting practice, but does not believe that everyone will make the switch.
“Bo (Bichette) and Vladdy (Guerrero Jr.), they’re going to us their own bats, like they’ve been using for their whole career,” Schneider told The Canadian Press recently. “It’s more of a feel thing than anything else. Not everyone’s going to like it, just the way it feels. A lot of people like a skinnier barrel so they can feel the whip through the zone. So everyone’s kind of different in that aspect.”
Schneider only has two at the moment, but a dozen more are on route from manufacturer B45 Baseball.
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider’s torpedo bat is shown in Toronto on Monday, March 31, 2025. The bats have more wood lower down the barrel after the label. The idea behind it is to bring more mass to a bat’s sweet spot.
Neil Davidson/The Canadian Press
B45 Baseball, which is based in Quebec City, is one of four bat manufacturers which currently offer the torpedo.
B45 production manager Olivier Lépine said the company began to produce the bat after being approached by Leanhardt.
“It looked kind of awkward the first time you see it,” he told Global News.
With interest in the bat, rising, orders are piling up for B45, and while they are currently one of companies making the bat, they expect that number to grow quickly.
Injury concerns?
Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton was one of the first to use the bat last season and began this season on the disabled list with pain in his elbows.
During spring training, he seemed to hint that using the different bats could have caused pain, telling reporters, “probably some bat adjustments,” before later adding he didn’t know why his injury occurred.
Stanton would not say whether the torpedo bat caused any of his issues but has also said he will continue to use them when he does return from injury.
— with files from Global News’ Mike Armstrong, The Canadian Press and the Associated Press