The Topic of Debate

Should Torpedo Bats Be Legal in the MLB?

Photo by Winston Chen on Unsplash

Baseball teams have been getting a tremendous amount of views for their unique use of bats, all starting with the New York Yankees. On Saturday, March 29, 2025, the Yankees played the Milwaukee Brewers home and won the game with a score of 20-9. The Yankees tied their record for most home runs in a single game with a total of 9, three in which were hit off the first three pitches of the game. They started getting a lot of attention, not just for almost breaking their record, but for the unusually shaped bats they played with. Michael Kay, the Yankees broadcaster, explained that the team made their own bats to improve hitting. These bats were later recognized as torpedo bats.

Torpedo bats are created with a barrel that is closer to the hitter’s hands and wider, forming almost like a bowling pin. They are custom fit to the player holding the bat, given more wood in places the player is more likely to hit the ball. The bat is designed to increase the chances of hitting the “sweet spot” on the bat and hitting the ball harder.

Since several Yankees players, including Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Jazz Chrisholm Jr., first showcased these bats, other teams and players have replicated their own kind of torpedo bats. Many debates on whether torpedo bats should be legal have started since then.

The bats have been stated as legal since they follow MLB Rule 3.02 which says, “The bat shall be smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thicket part and not more than 42 inches in length.” For right now, torpedo bats are legal in game, that is until the rulebook is changed to say otherwise.

The Yankees were not the first to have used torpedo bats, but since their almost record breaking game, the bats became more popular every time a player stepped up to bat. Many social media users have expressed their concern on these bats being legal, but since no rules are technically being broken, the bats are here to stay.

These bats will continue to be used and improve players' hitting abilities, but for how long will these uniquely shaped bats be on a field?