MLB deems Yankees' odd-looking 'torpedo' bats legal

The New York Yankees' odd-looking bats that captured the attention of the baseball world are indeed legal.

Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay first brought attention to the bats early in Saturday's 20-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, and questions about the equipment increased as the home team ran up the score.

The Yankees designed the bats - known as "torpedos" - to have more wood near the bat's label after studying shortstop Anthony Volpe's patterns, according to Kay. They're designed so that "the harder part of the bat is going to strike the ball," ostensibly leading to more barrels and hard contact - and more hits.

Although the design raised more than a few eyebrows, the new bats do not violate MLB's equipment rules, a league spokesperson told The Athletic's Chris Kirschner. Rule 3.02 (a) in the MLB rulebook states: "The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood."

Credit for the torpedo is generally ascribed to former Yankees lead analyst Aaron Leanhardt, who holds a Ph.D. in physics from MIT. Leanhardt, now a field coordinator with the Miami Marlins, told The Athletic's Brendan Kuty that the bats are designed to be "as heavy and as fat as possible in the area where you're trying to do damage on the baseball."

Former Yankees infielder Kevin Smith explained the bats' benefits from a player perspective in a lengthy X thread. At least five current Yankees - including Volpe, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Paul Goldschmidt - are now using torpedos in games, and they're loudly singing their praises.

"The benefit for me is, I like the weight distribution," Bellinger, who first tried a torpedo in batting practice while with the Chicago Cubs last, told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "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."

Not every Yankee is on board, though. Superstar Aaron Judge, who hit three round-trippers in Saturday's beatdown of the Brewers, is sticking to his conventional bat for now. When asked why he's not using the torpedo, the reigning AL MVP told Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News that "what I did last year speaks for itself."

The torpedo design is quickly becoming a thing outside the Bronx, too. Volpe said opponents are frequently asking him about the bat, while Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider revealed to Mitch Bannon of OddsShark that he recently began using it. Even Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins became intrigued after watching the Yankees slug nine homers against his team Saturday.

"I didn't see it until after the game," Hoskins told Dan Martin of the New York Post, adding that he's already tried to order his own torpedo. "They figured out a way to make it work. Logically, it makes a lot of sense, but I'm not a physicist. But how could I not want to look into it more?"