The extraordinary torpedo bats that have taken MLB by storm may be headed toward being completely ordinary.
“I think you’re going to see it across all 30 teams,”former MLB pitcher and co-founder and CEO of Marucci Sports Kurt Ainsworth said about the bats on The Post’s “The Show” podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman. “Every bat company is making these torpedoes, so I think this is here to stay for a little bit.”
Ainsworth, 46, provided some insight surrounding the bats as his company has begun seeing an increased demand for them.
Contrary to popular belief, the five Yankees using the bats are not alone — and the use of them is only going to grow.
Adley Rutschman hits a home run using a torpedo bat. Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
“This isn’t one that’s specific to the Yankees, I just think that it got magnified by the Yankees,” Ainsworth said. “[Orioles catcher] Adley Rutschman used our torpedo and hit [two] home runs for the Orioles, and I think you’re gonna see players across the board using it.”
Right now, Ainsworth says likely just “10 or 15 percent” of the league is adopting the torpedo bats, but he believes that “50-plus percent of the major leagues” will “at least try some sort of a torpedo in the next few weeks.”
Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman are joined by former MLB pitcher and Marucci co-founder/CEO Kurt Ainsworth. The Show: A NY Post baseball podcast with Joel Sherman & Jon Heyman
Kurt Ainsworth with the Giants in 2003. Getty Images
And it’s not just the major leagues, as Ainsworth noted that Marucci is beginning to get orders from youth baseball players as well.
If major leaguers continue to use the bats successfully — and the future generations of baseball catch on, too — these bats could become a staple of the game sooner than later.
While the bats have been met with their fair share of criticism and controversy, they are completely within MLB rules.
Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s torpedo bat up close. Getty Images
And it’s not the first reinvention of the baseball bat, as Marucci designed the “puck knob” just a few years ago.
“We created a puck knob here in this lab for Paul Goldschmidt,” Ainsworth said. “It put the weight below his hands and he [ended] up [winning] MVP that year.”
Just a few seasons removed from winning MVP using a “puck knob” bat, Paul Goldschmidt is using a torpedo bat now. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
The puck knob never caught on amongst other players, but things look to be different with the torpedo bat.
“You’re gonna see more and more people test it and try it,” Ainsworth said. “You’ll see tweaks of it, but I think that this is to stay here for a while.”
