Nestor Cortes’ Opening Day introduction before Milwaukee Brewers-Yankees game at the Stadium
Nestor Cortes’ Opening Day introduction before Milwaukee Brewers-Yankees game at the Stadium, March 27, 2025
The New York Yankees created a lot of social media buzz after setting a franchise record nine-home run game on Saturday — with many players using what many noticed are unusually shaped baseball bats.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe were among the many players using so-called “torpedo” bats when they joined the home-run party and helped propel the Yanks to their historic home run barrage. The Bronx Bombers also tied an MLB record after slamming their way to 15 home runs in their opening three-game series.
With all the buzz online over the unique bats, here’s what to know about how they differ from “regular” bats, if they are illegal and what other teams in the MLB are saying.
What is a torpedo bat?
The New York Yankees set a franchise record with nine home runs in a single game Saturday as they smashed the Milwaukee Brewers 20-9 at Yankee Stadium. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe were among the many Yankees to join the home-run party and viewers quickly noticed they used an unusually shaped bat.
Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay explained the team made custom bats to improve hitting for players, like Chisholm and Volpe, who tend to make contact closer to the label than the true barrel. The funky looking twigs paid dividends immediately, which left viewers asking the same question: Are the Yankees’ new torpedo bats legal?
Torpedo bat vs regular bat
“Torpedo” bats are untraditional barrel bats that rest closer to a hitter’s hand, forming what looks like a bowling-pin-like barrel, according to the MLB. They are customized for each player, with wood more concentrated in areas of the bat where the hitter is more likely to strike the ball.
You may not be able to tell the difference between a “torpedo” bat and a “normal” bat, according to Kevin Smith, a former minor league Yankees’ player, who posted a thread on the X platform, writing, “it’s fractions of an inch on the barrel.”
What does a torpedo bat look like?
They are a bit unusual looking since they are as fat and as heavy as necessary in the area where the player intends on hitting the ball on the bat, according The Athletic. Check out some photos below, including an X post from Smith.
Are torpedo bats legal?
Yes, the Yankee’s “torpedo” bats are legal, the MLB confirmed Sunday. They do not violate Major League rules or bat supplier regulations.
Who invented torpedo bats? Who is Aaron Leanhardt?
The Yankees have been working with Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist-turned-coach Aaron Leanhardt (“Lenny”) who helped re-engineer the traditional wooden bat. Leanhardt told The Athletic it was a “group effort” to invent the technology, stating the results came from conversations with coaches, players, the MLB and bat makers — although many officials are giving him “a lot” of credit.
Leanhardt had a Ph.D. in physics from MIT, worked as a physics professor at the University of Michigan from 2007 to 2014 before coaching in the Atlantic League in 2017. He was a minor league hitting coach in 2018 and joined the Miami Marlins this year as a field coordinator.
Does Aaron Judge use a torpedo bat?
No, Aaron Judge is not “on board” with the “torpedo” bat. He uses a traditional bat and still blasted four home runs over the weekend.
“What I did the past couple of seasons speaks for itself,” Judge told The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, “Why try to change something if you have something that’s working?”
What Yankees players use the torpedo bat? Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm among them
Among the New York Yankees’ players that use a customized “torpedo” bat and that joined the home run hitting club over the weekend were: Anthony Volpe (shortstop), Cody Bellinger (centerfield), Austin Wells (catcher), Paul Goldschmidt (first base), and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (third base). Chisholm knocked three home runs out of the ballpark over the weekend; Volpe and Wells hit two; and Bellinger and Goldschmidt hit one apiece.
What teams use torpedo bats?
The Yankees’ performance may have helped propel the “torpedo” bat narrative, they aren’t the only team trying the bats out.
The Minnesota Twins’ catcher Ryan Jeffers and the Tampa Bay Rays’ Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz were also spotted using the “torpedo” bats in spring training and over opening weekend.
The Baltimore Orioles have also reportedly been trying them out, according to the MLB, and Los Angeles Angels infielder Nicky Lopez told The Athletic that the Cubs, who he spent spring training with, utilized the bats. The Boston Red Sox also tried them in spring while some members of the Baltimore Orioles have reportedly been testing them.
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
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