The introduction of the “torpedo bat” has dominated the discussion of MLB’s opening week, and it’s not hard to see why.
After a century and a half of baseball’s existence, a New York Yankees in-house physicist had the idea to thicken the barrel of the bat where it most often hits the ball and the result has been, so far, a lot of homers and a lot of arguing.
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The torpedo bat is hardly an automatic slugging percentage producer — it’s hard to take any hard analysis on their effects seriously when some teams haven’t even played in their own ballpark yet — but it’s at least something new in a sport historically resistant to change. And at least one pitcher is fine with hitters keeping their bowling pin-style bats, provided pitchers get something in return.
Philadelphia Phillies reliever Matt Strahm proposed such a deal on Monday, saying hitters can “use whatever bat they want,” as long as pitchers can go back to using the pine tar those same hitters use to handle those bats. And also do away with mandatory umpire hand checks.
MLB famously cracked down on pitchers’ use of sticky stuff in 2021 and has continued to do its best to prevent workarounds to its ban. The type of sticky stuff used varied from pitcher to pitcher — some used a tacky mixture of two legal substances, sunscreen and rosin, while others used a Pelican Grip substance so strong it would leave residue from the baseball’s leather on their fingers.
Batters across MLB have begun using the torpedo bats, including Matt Strahm’s teammate Alec Bohm. (Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
With batting averages at historically low levels and sky-high spin rates caused by sticky stuff partially responsible, the public was firmly in favor of banning these substances, though pitchers defended the use of at least some sticky stuff because it would help their control and reduce walks and hit-by-pitches.
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Strahm said he doesn’t want the super-sticky stuff back, calling it “a bit much,” but he thinks pitchers should at least be able to use pine tar to help their grip.
Strahm is in his 10th MLB season and third with the Phillies. He’s coming off a career year last season, earning his first All-Star selection while posting a 1.87 ERA, 0.750 WHIP and 79 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings across 66 appearances.
