Several New York Yankees used redesigned bats during the team’s season-opening series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The new design places the barrel closer to the hands instead of the more standard placement toward the end of the bat. Brewers closer Trevor Megill took issue with the use of the “torpedo” bats and shared his frustrations after New York scored 20 runs on Saturday en route to a blowout win over Milwaukee.
The Yankees hit a franchise-record nine home runs during the 20-9 win. Megill railed against the bats, arguing they were “terrible,” but also admitting they were a “genius” idea.
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“I think it’s terrible,’” the Brewers relief pitcher told The New York Post. “We’ll see what the data says. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I feel like it’s something used in slo-pitch softball. It’s genius: Put the mass all in one spot. It might be bush [league]. It might not be. But it’s the Yankees, so they’ll let it slide.”
The shape of the bat is within the scope of league rules, making it permissible.
According to MLB Rule 3.02, “The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.” Furthermore, the “experimental” bats can’t be used “until the manufacturer has secured approval from Major League Baseball of his design and methods of manufacture.”
Other players in the Brewers’ clubhouse countered Megill’s position, with first baseman Rhys Hoskins suggesting the design left him intrigued.
“I didn’t see it until after the game,’’ Hoskins said. “They figured out a way to make it work. Logically, it makes a lot of sense, but I’m not a physicist. But how could I not want to look into it more?”
“I’ve already talked to some bat companies since the game to see if I could get my model made like that, just to see what it’s like,” Hoskins added. “We’ll see. Just because it worked for somebody doesn’t mean it’ll work for everybody. Hitting is such a feel thing. But I’d try it.”
Nestor Cortes, who played for the Yankees from 2021-24 and gave up eight earned runs on Saturday, shrugged off the new bats.
“That’s nothing new to me,” Cortes said. “I know a few guys did it last year. I don’t think it matters to me. I get the science and technology behind it. I don’t know; it doesn’t really bother me.”
The Yankees cruised to a 12-3 victory on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep of the Brewers.
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