Yankees torpedo bats propel team to record-breaking start

The biggest revelation from Major League Baseball’s opening weekend was not the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-0 dominance, the four home runs hit already by Eugenio Suárez or Miami’s three consecutive walk-off wins.

The biggest revelation from Major League Baseball’s opening weekend was not the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-0 dominance, the four home runs hit already by Eugenio Suárez or Miami’s three consecutive walk-off wins.

Instead, the talk of baseball has been new, torpedo-shaped bats used by several members of the New York Yankees — and the league-leading offensive numbers they have produced.

The Yankees have scored 36 runs, an MLB-high 22 more than their opponents, through three games, including a team-record nine home runs in Saturday’s victory over Milwaukee.

Of the five home runs allowed that day by Brewers starter Nestor Cortes, a former Yankee, four were hit by players using bats that eschew the thick-barreled shape used for generations and instead shift wood from the end of the bat closer to the middle, near its label.

A detailed view of Jazz Chisholm's bat.Mike Stobe / Getty ImagesAwareness of the bats became a trending topic during Saturday’s home run derby after Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay revealed the change was a result of a study by the team’s analytics department of shortstop Anthony Volpe that found “every single ball it seemed like he hit on the label. He didn’t hit any on the barrel.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/mlb/yankees-torpedo-bats-rcna198800

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