For Major League Baseball (MLB), regulations on baseball bats are put in place to keep the game level and fair, but with the sport evolving through the years, the league changes with it. Torpedo bats have sparked controversy and speculation amongst MLB fans and players as the newest evolution of the sport.
According to the MLB 2025 Rulebook, “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.”
During the New York Yankees 2025 opening series against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Yankees had a total of 15 home runs throughout the series, tying the MLB record for most home runs in an opening season series.
Contrary to popular belief this was not the origin of the torpedo bat in the MLB. Players throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons had tested several early designs of the torpedo bat.
The original idea of the torpedo bat came from 48-year-old Aaron Leanhardt. Leanhardt is the current field coordinator for the Miami Marlins, although his life has not always been spent on the field.
Leanhardt spent his college career at The University of Michigan, earning a degree in electrical engineering. After, he went on to obtain his doctorate in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The Yankees hired Leanhardt in 2018 after he began his coaching career in baseball a year prior.
During his time as an assistant Minor League hitting coordinator is when the Yankees sought Leanhardt’s help to act as a bridge between the analytics department and big-league coaching staff.
When interviewed by the MLB Leanhardt spoke on how the creation of the bat was actually quite simple.
“I think the eureka moment, really, was when players pointed to where they were trying to hit the ball, and they noticed themselves that it was not the fattest part of the bat,” Leanhardt said. “They noticed that the tip was the fattest part of the bat, and then everyone just looked at each other like, ‘Well, let’s flip it around. It’s going to look silly, but are we willing to go with it?’
A torpedo bat is different from a standard MLB bat in that the bat is skinnier at the end while having more mass closer to the batter’s hands depending on where the batter has their “sweet spot” to maximize hitting. The torpedo has a barrel-like shape and shares shape characteristics with that of an actual torpedo missile, earning its signature name.
Employees at the Southwest University Park and longtime baseball fans, Raul Saluda and Park Murray, hold opposing opinions of the torpedo bats now being legal under MLB rules and regulations.
Murray has a negative view on this new addition, believing that these new bats designed for “sweet spot” hitting might possibly take a skill aspect out of the game.
“It’d be more interesting, but those bats I’m not a fan of, it’s more designed to hit instead of eye contact with the ball,” Murray said.
Saluda saw a more positive swing of the bat, saying that the introduction of new innovations to the sport will make it more enjoyable and entertaining for fans.
“Well, the first time they [MLB] used that bat, the New York Yankees came out and hit nine runs in one game,” Saluda said. “In other words, it’ll [torpedo bats] change baseball, with more hits and more runs, baseball becomes a lot more interesting.”
It is still scientifically unproven if a torpedo bat gives players a hitting advantage due to each bat being custom to a certain player. While there is speculation throughout the baseball community, all fans can do now is sit back and watch as this innovation to America’s favorite pastime makes a name for itself.
Joseph Montero is a staff reporter for The Prospector and may be reached at [email protected]
