The torpedo bats are the talk of baseball right now, and I think the Nats should join the fun
The talk of the first week of the baseball season has been the bats. More specifically the new torpedo bats. After the Yankees went on an offensive rampage against the Brewers, it was revealed that they were using a new bat with a bigger sweet spot. We will talk about what these new bats are all about and why the Nats should buy into the craze.
What is a Torpedo Bat?
The torpedo bat was designed by former MIT physicist Aaron Leanhardt. He worked for the Yankees for many years before taking a job with the Marlins this season. Leanhardt used his scientific knowledge to create a new bat that is taking the baseball world by storm.
The torpedo bat is designed to put more of the wood and mass in the sweet spot of the bat, where hitters make the most and best contact. A side by side picture of the torpedo bat and a regular bat is jarring.
Yes, the Yankees have a literal genius MIT Physicist, Lenny (who is the man), on payroll. He invented the “Torpedo” barrel. It brings more wood – and mass – to where you most often make contact as a hitter. The idea is to increase the number of “barrels” and decrease misses. pic.twitter.com/CsC1wkAM9G
— Kevin Smith (@KJS_4) March 29, 2025
You can really see how this can help the hitter and why it has become so controversial. However, they are legal at least for now. According to the rules, the thickest part of the bat can’t be more than 2.61 inches in diameter. The torpedo bats are within those rules.
Creating Liftoff:
The biggest reason the torpedo bats are in the news is because they work. On Opening Weekend, the Yankees hit 15 home runs in their first three games, tying an MLB record. Nine of those 15 came from players using the torpedo bats.
It was a truly stunning offensive outburst from a Yankees team that had just lost Juan Soto. Now players that aren’t on the Yankees are joining in on the fun. Elly De La Cruz used the bats for the first time yesterday and went 4/5 with two homers and seven RBI’s. Before too long, we should see a lot of hitters using these new weapons.
Torpedos in the Nations Capital:
As long as these torpedo bats remain legal, the Nationals should join in on the fun. In the pregame media scrum yesterday, Davey Martinez said the team had not ordered any torpedo bats yet, but seemed open to the idea. I think the Nationals should be all in.
We need to find whatever competitive advantage we can get, and it looks like these bats can provide them. Even if they aren’t a magical elixir, they should work as a confidence booster if nothing else. Maybe Dylan Crews should order a torpedo bat to try to change things up. I want the Nationals to be on the cutting edge of baseball, and these bats are part of that. After all, if you aren’t living on the edge, are you really living?
Imagine what a guy like James Wood could do with a slightly bigger sweet spot. It feels like most of the data based advancement has been on the pitching side lately. These pitching labs that help pitchers understand how their body works is part of the reason why so many guys are throwing so hard now. Pitchers are also developing nastier and nastier off speed pitches every year it seems. It is time for the hitters to catch up and these bats are helping out. We can now track bat speed and stuff like that as well.
At the end of the day, the Nationals hitters need to be comfortable with the bat, but if they are why not give it a shot. Put in the order Davey!