Every Single MLB Team Ordered Torpedo Bats Within Days of Yankees' Home Run Outburst

Every team wants their hands on the torpedo bats.
A torpedo bat and gloves of New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger are seen on a tarp.
A torpedo bat and gloves of New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger are seen on a tarp. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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Torpedo bats have taken the MLB world by storm in just the week or so since Opening Day.

The New York Yankees, who started using these specialized bats this season, have already hit 22 home runs since Thursday, May 27. The Yankees' 17 homers in four games even made an MLB record. So, it's understandable if other MLB teams became interested in acquiring these torpedo bats themselves. And, it sounds like the other teams acted fast in adding the bats to their stock.

ESPN recently spoke to Bobby Hillerich, vice president of production at Hillerich & Bradsby which makes Louisville Slugger bats, about the surge of torpedo bats this season. He admitted that all 30 MLB teams had requested the bats by the middle of this week, after the Yankees' nine home run game last Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

"Every team started trying to get orders in," Hillerich said. "We're trying to scramble to get wood. And then it was: How fast can we get this to retail?"

The Cincinnati Reds specifically asked Hillerich & Bradsby for the bats for Monday's game vs. the Texas Rangers. Some of the workers drove to Cincinnati to have star Elly de la Cruz test out the torpedo bats. He ended up using one on Monday night and hit two home runs and produced seven RBIs.

MLB teams are obviously learning the power of the torpedo bats and want to see what the fuss is all about.

It sounds like the torpedo bats are here to stay in MLB, especially since every single team has shown interest in at least learning more about what these bats can do. This may not be the end of the evolution of bats in the MLB, either.


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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.