Bulging bat barrels breed better baseball batting?

[TheVat]

Will these new bats be banned, as the controversy grows, or will everyone in MLB soon be swinging them?  At some point, further testing by a panel of engineers may be needed, lest fans are driven batty.

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/30/nx-s1-5344998/new-bats-yankees-record-breaking-home-runs

 

According to former infielder Kevin Smith, the Yankees' new bats were designed by Aaron Leanhardt, a former physicist turned baseball coach. Leanhardt, an ex-physics professor who earned his doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been working for the team for over six years. He used to be the Yankees assistant hitting coach, before becoming an analyst. He recently moved to work for rival team the Miami Marlins.

Smith posted on X that the "torpedo" barrel bat was designed to decrease misses by hitters. The bat's barrel is thicker and wider than a standard baseball bat. The goal is to bring more wood and mass to the part of the bat that makes most contact with the ball, according to Smith, so that the hitter is less likely to miss.

[exchemist]

1 hour ago, TheVat said:

Will these new bats be banned, as the controversy grows, or will everyone in MLB soon be swinging them?  At some point, further testing by a panel of engineers may be needed, lest fans are driven batty.

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/30/nx-s1-5344998/new-bats-yankees-record-breaking-home-runs

 

According to former infielder Kevin Smith, the Yankees' new bats were designed by Aaron Leanhardt, a former physicist turned baseball coach. Leanhardt, an ex-physics professor who earned his doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been working for the team for over six years. He used to be the Yankees assistant hitting coach, before becoming an analyst. He recently moved to work for rival team the Miami Marlins.

Smith posted on X that the "torpedo" barrel bat was designed to decrease misses by hitters. The bat's barrel is thicker and wider than a standard baseball bat. The goal is to bring more wood and mass to the part of the bat that makes most contact with the ball, according to Smith, so that the hitter is less likely to miss.

I know nothing about baseball but doesn’t this win the No Shit Sherlock prize for obviousness? A wider thicker bat makes it easier to hit the ball? 

[swansont]

28 minutes ago, exchemist said:

I know nothing about baseball but doesn’t this win the No Shit Sherlock prize for obviousness? A wider thicker bat makes it easier to hit the ball? 

It’s wider where some hitters contact the ball, which also moves mass toward the hands, so the same torque will let it accelerate more. So it’s wider without being heavier. Heavier bats would be slower.

One key was analyzing the contact area and realizing that it was closer to the hands than was assumed. That’s not the case with all hitters, and only some hitters are using the new bat.