1 day Ago By The Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) — For the MIT-educated physicist behind the torpedo bat, it’s more about the talent of the players than their lumber at the plate. The torpedo model — a striking design in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like a bowling pin — became the talk of major league baseball over the weekend. The New York Yankees hit a team-record nine homers that traveled a combined 3,695 feet on Saturday.
Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all went deep using a torpedo bat. New York’s 15 homers through the first three games matched the 2006 Detroit Tigers for the most in major league history.
“At the end of the day it’s about the batter not the bat,” said Aaron Leanhardt, a former physics professor at the University of Michigan who is being credited with the design. “It’s about the hitter and their hitting coaches. I’m happy to always help those guys get a little bit better but ultimately it’s up to them to put good swings and grind it out every day.
So, credit to those guys.” Leanhardt, 48, a field coordinator for the Miami Marlins, said the origin of the bat dates to 2023, when he worked for the Yankees. He said several versions were tested that didn’t create the desired effect.
Leanhardt was approached by major league and minor league players early in the design stage, seeking information on the bats. “I’ll let the players always talk about their own experiences. I’m not going to drag anyone into this,” Leanhardt said Monday.
“But there were definitely guys on the major league side and on the minor league side in 2023 that were definitely asking me questions and offering design advice and demoing them.” Leanhardt said the past couple of days had been “surreal.” Some of Miami’s players joked around with him as he answered questions from the media before their game against the New York Mets.
“The industry as a whole was probably a little bit more aware of this maybe than you guys were,” Leanhardt said. “Guys have been asking me about it. Guys have been wanting to swing them.
” Bat manufacturer Victus Sports dropped off a batch of torpedo bats for the Phillies just before first pitch of their home opener on Monday. Alec Bohm grabbed one, took about five swings and decided to use one. His logic seemed sound: Look how it might have aided the Yankees.
“You see a team hit 20 homers and you’re gonna try it,” Bohm said. “It didn’t work.” Bohm managed just one single with his new lumber.
He noted it “felt just like a normal bat” and wasn’t sure if he would swing with a torpedo again any time soon. “It’s a bat. It’s different,” he said.
“It’ll probably run its course.” Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich said he didn’t feel like the bats had any effect on their opening series against the Yankees. “I think they have a lot of really good players.
That’s probably the biggest factor in how that went,” he said. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said shortstop Francisco Lindor used a similar bat in their series at Houston. He got the models late in spring training.
“Nothing new for us,” Mendoza said. “This is something that every team, every player continues to look for an edge and find ways to improve within the margins. And this is a perfect example.
” ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb.
