NEW YORK — Revolutionary tech or junk science? Much ado about nothing or the next big trend in baseball?
The truth with torpedo bats, as with most everything, is probably somewhere in between.
Meaningful or not, the new hitting tech has swept across baseball, garnering eyeballs and headlines. The New York Yankees’ offensive decimation of an undermanned Brewers pitching staff provided the spark, genuine curiosity the fire. Because even though the misshapen sticks were in use dating to last season, they’ve exploded in popularity over the past week.
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How statistically significant these bats are remains an open question, answerable only with time and a larger sample of data. But another compelling question came to the fore Tuesday in the Bronx: Can these new-age bats cause injuries?
Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton doesn’t buy it.
The gargantuan designated hitter, currently on the injured list due to tendonitis in both elbows, has yet to see game action this season. During spring training, Stanton told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, that his ailing ‘bows were related to “bat adjustments” he made during the 2024 season. The bizarre nature of his injury and Stanton’s early adoption of the torpedo bats — he used them for much of last year, including during New York’s postseason run — only thickens the plot.
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But on Tuesday, Stanton walked things back, clearly wishing to uncouple his current predicament from the bat now taking MLB by storm.
“You’re not going to get the story you’re looking for,” he said, implying that members of the media were attempting to pin his elbow problems on the torpedo bats. “So if that’s what you guys want, it isn’t going to happen.”
Asked whether he’s surprised by all the attention these bats have garnered over the past week, Stanton replied, “Yeah, but when there’s a narrative, that’s how it rolls.”
Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton used a torpedo bat last season, including during New York’s run to the World Series. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
(Al Bello via Getty Images)
Manager Aaron Boone also weighed in when asked his thoughts on the torpedo bat phenomenon: “It’s not related to the weekend we had,” he said of his team’s offensive outburst. “Maybe in some cases, for some players, it may help them incrementally.”
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While it’s certainly possible that a weight redistribution on an implement Stanton is swinging full-force around 100 times a day could foster discomfort, there’s no hard evidence that the two dynamics are connected. Because while the torpedo bats feature a different sweet-spot location, the bat is designed to have the same weight distribution and balance as a hitter’s normal bat. Put another way, if a new bat created a new or different swing, then the barrel location would be outdated and pointless.
At the same time, given the relative newness of the equipment and the lack of data available, there’s no way to know for certain. Add the injury-plagued nature of Stanton’s past half-decade, and it’s little more than a guessing game.
But Stanton clearly doesn’t believe there’s a connection. He told reporters Tuesday that whenever he returns to the Yankees’ lineup, he’ll continue using a torpedo bat.
