Los Angeles Dodgers ditches torpedo bat... and sets his team up for stunning comeback win

Are Torpedo bats already passé?

The recently designed lumber took Major League Baseball by tempest aft the New York Yankees launched a team-record 9 location runs in a 20-9 triumph implicit the visiting Milwaukee Brewers past week.

Since then, MLB stars from Baltimore's Adley Rutschman to Tampa Bay's Yandy Diaz person utilized the bat design, which differs from accepted models due to the fact that determination is much wood astir the statement than the extremity of the barrel. As a result, the bat somewhat resembles a bowling pin.

But determination is astatine slightest 1 large league slugger who has tried the Torpedo bat, lone to instrumentality to a accepted model.

Los Dodgers Dodgers 3rd baseman Max Muncy began the twelvemonth by going 2 for 25 with the Torpedo bat. So, aft starting Wednesday's crippled against the visiting Atlanta Braves by going 0 for 3, Muncy ditched his Torpedo bat for different plan and promptly tied the crippled with a two-RBI treble successful the bottommost of the eighth inning.

'Obviously the commencement to the play was beauteous unsmooth for me,' Muncy told reporters aft beating the Braves connected Shohei Ohtani's walk-off location tally successful the bottommost of the ninth. 

'I felt similar the bat was causing maine to beryllium a small spot off-plane. A small spot successful and retired of the portion due to the fact that my swings felt truly bully tonight, but possibly conscionable a spot off. So I conscionable decided to spell backmost to my regular bat.'

Despite his occurrence with a accepted bat, Muncy isn't rather done with the Torpedo bat.

'I bash deliberation determination was immoderate bully to utilizing the Torpedo bat today,' Muncy said. 'It mightiness beryllium thing you signifier with and spell backmost to my bat for the game. It seemed to enactment that past astatine bat. You know, america shot players are not superstitious.

'Traditionally, I similar my value toward the extremity of the bat. So, this is thing that takes the value retired of the extremity of the bat. So possibly it's conscionable not for me. It's for immoderate guys but possibly not for me.'

Critics of the Torpedo person claimed that the plan should beryllium banned, but the MIT-educated down the bat insists it's inactive the subordinate that makes the difference.

'At the extremity of the time it's astir the batter not the bat,' Aaron Leanhardt, a erstwhile physics prof astatine the University of Michigan, told The Associated Press astir his design. 'It's astir the hitter and their hitting coaches. I'm blessed to ever assistance those guys get a small spot amended but yet it's up to them to enactment bully swings and grind it retired each day. So, recognition to those guys.'

The 48-year-old Leanhardt is present a tract coordinator for the Miami Marlins but said the bat's origins tin beryllium traced backmost to his clip with the Yankees successful 2023.

'I'll fto the players ever speech astir their ain experiences. I'm not going to resistance anyone into this,' Leanhardt said. 'But determination were decidedly guys connected the large league broadside and connected the insignificant league broadside successful 2023 that were decidedly asking maine questions and offering plan proposal and demoing them.'

Although determination immoderate skepticism astir the legality of the bats, they person been approved for in-game use.  

Not lone was The Athletic told by the commissioner's bureau that the bats were kosher, but MLB Rule 3.02 besides clears up immoderate disorder connected the issue.

'The bat shall beryllium a smooth, circular instrumentality not much than 2.61 inches successful diameter astatine the thickest portion and not much than 42 inches successful length,' the rulebook reads. 'The bat shall beryllium 1 portion of coagulated wood.'

And we cognize these models conscionable those standards due to the fact that immoderate caller bat designs request to beryllium approved by MLB, arsenic was the lawsuit with the Torpedo bats.

Of course, immoderate aggravated fans don't privation to perceive this.

'Yankees caller bats are illegal,' wrote one. 'Brewers should protestation and taxable to MLB.'