Torpedo bats!

[bk400]

Well, if it is within the rules of the game, I'm ok with it. Let's see how it plays out. I thought it was interesting that Aaron Judge was like, no thanks. And Giancarlo obliquely blames the early versions of the cricket bat for his elbow problems.

At the end of the day, though, the bats aren't going to help the Yankees field properly.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Just the look of them makes it seem like they should not be allowed. But we all know Manfred & Co. would love it if every game ended in a football score.

[D. Bergin]

Yeah, I liked that they scored 20 runs in one game. Didn't like so much they made 5 errors in the same game.

Bats might help a guy here and there, depending on his swing radius, and if they give any sort of an advantage it won't make a bit of difference when every team in baseball is using the same bat technology 1 week from now.

Maybe every team will have a "bat radius" department from here on out, pinpointing which players need to change their weight distribution and who doesn't. Look for the Red Sox to try to steal the Yanks MIT guy right out from under their noses.

Yankees...as usual, are really bad at keeping secrets.

Thanks a lot, Michael Kay!

[packs]

Bats have been tinkered with and continually refined for the last 150 years. The only time anyone complains is when they didn’t think of something first.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Just the look of them makes it seem like they should not be allowed. But we all know Manfred & Co. would love it if every game ended in a football score.

Rules for bats are pretty straight forward. Just surprised we didn't see this sooner.

I've got a feeling this had more to do with the Brewers pitching then anything else. Both Volpe and Chisholm are guys who get hot and cold very quickly.

Volpe only has 2 hits so far. They just happen to be HR's.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I watched an ESPN clip of the 9 home run game. The most obnoxious thing was the home run calls. High fly ball to left field. Track. Wall. Bye bye. Awful, IMO.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I watched an ESPN clip of the 9 home run game. The most obnoxious thing was the home run calls. High fly ball to left field. Track. Wall. Bye bye. Awful, IMO.

"Track, wall" sounds like Michael Kay, but he would have ended it with "See Ya".

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Rules for bats are pretty straight forward. Just surprised we didn't see this sooner.

I've got a feeling this had more to do with the Brewers pitching then anything else. Both Volpe and Chisholm are guys who get hot and cold very quickly.

Volpe only has 2 hits so far. They just happen to be HR's.

Nestor and the other Brewers definitely helped the Yankees out. Something about the shape just surprised me when I saw it. Reminded me of those red wiffle ball bats with the giant barrel.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Nestor and the other Brewers definitely helped the Yankees out. Something about the shape just surprised me when I saw it. Reminded me of those red wiffle ball bats with the giant barrel.

Yeah, they definitely look a little weird. I think they will help some guys a bit, and not so much others.

Pitchers get smart quickly to. They'll start learning who has the displaced bats and start pitching them differently...away from their personal sweet spots.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

"Track, wall" sounds like Michael Kay, but he would have ended it with "See Ya".

Maybe that was it then, I dunno, it was forgettable. I may have to check out the new radio announcer for a comparison. John Sterling of course was legendary.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Maybe that was it then, I dunno, it was forgettable. I may have to check out the new radio announcer for a comparison. John Sterling of course was legendary.

Yeah, I miss Sterling. We'll never get to hear his HR calls for the newest Yankees:

"Goldy, you're Golden!"
"Cody rings the Bell!"

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Maybe that was it then, I dunno, it was forgettable. I may have to check out the new radio announcer for a comparison. John Sterling of course was legendary.

It was probably Kay. He's generally awful.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

It was probably Kay. He's generally awful.

I'm really torn on Yankee broadcasts. I think David Cone is great, but Kay and O'Neill annoy me.

[Peter_Spaeth]

IMO no one will ever top Mel Allen's "going, going, gone."

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Yeah, they definitely look a little weird. I think they will help some guys a bit, and not so much others.

Pitchers get smart quickly to. They'll start learning who has the displaced bats and start pitching them differently...away from their personal sweet spots.

Isn't that generally the goal now regardless of what the bat looks like?

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Rules for bats are pretty straight forward. Just surprised we didn't see this sooner.

I've got a feeling this had more to do with the Brewers pitching then anything else. Both Volpe and Chisholm are guys who get hot and cold very quickly.

Volpe only has 2 hits so far. They just happen to be HR's.

Will not duplicate your post Dave, but agree. The Brewers starting pitching staff is in the hospital and/or rehab, and moving the maximal diameter away from the end of the bat and keeping the bat legal, seems like something that is late in coming. Hell, Bonds could have hit 90 dingers or more with a torpedo. The only way to stop him would have been 400 walks in a season, also a record by the way.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by jayshum

Isn't that generally the goal now regardless of what the bat looks like?

Well, yeah...but with the new bats the weak spots in a hitters bat path have changed into sweet spots for them, based on how each bat has been customized for them.

Will just take scouting and pitchers a short little while to catch up.

Part of me wonders if hitters will then take it to the next level and start mixing and matching what bat they're using, depending on the pitcher they're facing, and the leverage situation of a particular at bat, and how they think they've been scouted.

On the other hand, hitting is hard enough as it is, and there's a good chance players won't want to screw any more with their mechanics. We've already seen Judge and I guess Stanton say that they don't like the new bats.

[doug.goodman]

Stanton used one during the playoff, I believe.

I'm amazed nobody thought about it for 150 years or so (including me).

[packs]

Was Henie Groh's bottle bat ever officially banned? Seems as though he was the real pioneer in this area.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by packs

Was Henie Groh's bottle bat ever officially banned? Seems as though he was the real pioneer in this area.

As far as i know, his bats would be legal as long as the diameter is under the limit. The only thing that's a maybe is the "consistent taper" requirement, but that seems to not matter.

Even if they're legal, they would be heavy and have odd weight distribution, so they might not be all that good.

[steve B]

When I first saw a picture of the torpedo bat, I thought it was to help batters hit to the opposite field.

Redistributing the center of mass to where most balls get hit seems like a good idea.

[bk400]

Max Muncy put a bit of chill on the torpedo bat tonight:

https://nypost.com/2025/04/03/sports...walkoff-homer/

[Balticfox]

It seems to me that those bats will result in more home runs if the ball hits the sweet spot and more ground outs/fly outs if it misses. All in all this means less singles, doubles and triples where there's action on the base paths. If this is so, I'm opposed to it. I like action!

[mortimer brewster]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

IMO no one will ever top Mel Allen's "going, going, gone."

After reading your post I suddenly have an urge for a Ballantine beer.