Did Yankees’ physicist-designed ‘torpedo’ bats play role in 9-HR power surge vs. Brewers?

The New York Yankees teed off on the Milwaukee Brewers at will on Saturday, with some interesting equipment.

Amid a nine-homer, 16-hit demolition of the Brewers’ pitching staff — which started with three straight homers off old friend Nestor Cortes and ended with a final score of 20-9 — YES Network broadcaster Michael Kay explained at least a few of the Yankees were using a new type of bat.

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Apparently, the Yankees’ front office has crafted a new sort of bat that basically moves some of the wood lower down on the barrel, putting more mass in the area that actually strikes the ball. It basically makes the end of the bat more shaped like a bowling pin.

Kay’s explanation:

“The Yankee front office, the analytics department, did a study on Anthony Volpe and every single ball, it seemed like, he hit on the label,” Kay said. “He didn’t hit any on the barrel. So they had bats made up where they moved a lot of the wood into the label so the harder part of the bat will actually strike the ball.”

It is unclear how many of the Yankees were using these bats, and for how long. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe both appeared to be using them Saturday, but photos from spring training appear to show Chisholm using them and Volpe not using them.

Cody Bellinger also used them in spring training and on Saturday, and provided a review to the New York Daily News earlier this month:

“There’s ways to move the weight of the bat. Some guys like top heavy, some guys like hand-loaded bats,” Bellinger said. “You just gotta find a bat that feels good, that kind of moves with you.

“I’m a believer in swinging different things.”

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So we’re a bit unclear on how many of the Yankees’ 12 balls hit with an exit velocity of at least 100 mph were hit with the bowling pin bats. Chisholm went 2-for-5 with a homer Saturday, while Volpe was 1-for-4 with a homer and two walks.

Are the Yankees’ bats illegal?

While some might object to them, the bats don’t appear to break any MLB rules. The league only stipulates bats can be no longer than 42 inches or thicker than 2.61 inches, must be made of solid wood and not have a cup at the tip deeper than an inch. Bat grip substances also can’t go longer than 18 inches from the bottom of the handle.

You would also imagine the Yankees secured MLB’s permission before implementing the bats.

Former Yankees infielder describes using bats

Former Yankees organization player Kevin Smith provided some additional information on social media after the game, with a picture showing the difference between the Yankees’ bats and one from the Athletics. He credited an MIT physicist on payroll named Lenny (a.k.a. analyst Aaron Leanhardt) for the innovation.

Again, it’s unclear when these bats, reportedly described in-house as a “torpedo” barrel, were implemented as Smith left the Yankees organization last October. Still, he provided a detailed explanation of what it’s like to use the bats:

MLB has rules on bats, like what the weight drop can be, what the density of the wood can be and how big the barrel can be. Most guys are using bats that aren’t even close to maxing out the barrel size. When Lenny measured my barrel compared to what’s “allowed” I was shocked.

“You’re going up with a weapon that can be better.” Lenny would say. “Your just misses could be clips, your clips could be flares, and your flares could barrels.” And it was true, it’s fractions of an inch on the barrel differentiating these outcomes.

They also feel a little lighter, there’s more weight closer to your hands so you can swing a heavier bat. It kind of feels like those old Wiffle ball bats you used as a kid, the barrel feels MASSIVE the first time you pick it up. But it’s really not THAT big …

It looks really big because the cup of the bat is smaller. Taking some of the wood away from the end (where you don’t really want to hit it anyways) and putting more in the barrel (where you want to hit it more) makes it look even bigger.

It makes sense to everyone who plays, the hard part is getting over how weird it looks in your hands. Looking down at it in the box made me laugh almost every time and most catchers noticed it. Players love feel, and it throws off all your feels initially.

Obviously, it’s not going to make you an elite hitter if you aren’t already (I tried). But for the best in the world, any slight advantage could be the difference. It’s cool to see more people using them, Lenny was always amazed it wasn’t already a thing.

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As Smith said, it should be emphasized that these bats are likely a minor upgrade at best. Hitting a home run still requires squaring up a ball — which remains the hard part — this might just be a way for players to add a little force when they do so. Still, baseball is the sport where little advantages add up more than any other, so you would imagine the rest of the league is already looking into this with great interest.