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MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

thelibertyline.com

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Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#41

Post by papercrane »

koolba wrote: post #29

Did it really take 125+ years for someone to realize the bat does not need to evenly taper? This seems like some seriously low lying fruit.

Different bat profiles have been around forever, and many players have their own custom profiles that they like.

I think the key innovation that enabled this new profile is the accuracy and quality of data being collected.

Edit: Here's an article talking about some of the bat tracking technology that MLB has deployed in recent years: https://technology.mlblogs.com/introducing-statcast-2023-hig...

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#42

Post by abfan1127 »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #2

Good. Baseball isn't a serious spectator sport. It's only interesting to statisticians. Now there will be more work for them to do, adjusting for bat type in addition to stadium dimensions, rule changes, etc. to compare players across eras. And more HRs might make it a little more interesting to spectators as long as the OBP doesn't increase to prolong an already too long game.

baseball is a very complex game. That's what makes it so great to spectate. The footwork, the defensive organization, the dynamics between pitchers and hitters. Its expansive. There's so much to learn about, there's so many opportunities for unique play.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#43

Post by krustyburger »

cf100clunk wrote: post #21
vessenes wrote: post #11

Adding yet another thing for neurodivergent fans of baseball to argue over is fun! That said, some of this must be statistical anomaly. Let’s give it at least a few hundred at-bats per player using it. If you look at an exhibit of bats over time, you will see that size, weight, width and shape have all varied quite a bit between players even if on the same team and era, and this makes me skeptical that some new shape…

> Let’s give it at least a few hundred at-bats per player using it. Indeed, and lets also test against other ''new'' bat designs and materials i.e. graphene, carbon fibre, etc. so that we can hopefully ban them pre-emptively if they show improvements that are statistically above the latest trends in human effort and talent.

Contrary to the implication of the comment you’re replying to, MLB has always mandated bats be made of solid wood. Aluminum bats have never been allowed and have never been used. Bats made of other materials like the ones you mention would also not be allowed. This new “torpedo” bat is made of solid wood, just in a new shape.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#44

Post by [deleted] »

fishpen0 wrote: post #26
jparishy wrote: post #14

I think it's quite cool (disclaimer: I am indeed a dirty Yankees fan) Hitting is really hard. If you feel up to it, and can find a public batting cage near you that has a fast pitch machine (usually maxes out 75-85mph which is 20+ mph less than your typical MLB fastball), give it a shot. When you hit the ball away from the sweet spot, especially on the parts closer to your hands, it really freaking hurts and throws o…

If every player ends up with a bat custom tailored to their swing this will get very interesting.

[deleted]

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#46

Post by ycombinete »

This is how modern cricket bats are designed, with the bulk of the wood located in the “sweet spot”.

In fact they have undergone a similar evolution. You can see that in the variations history on the Wikipedia page [0], as well as the photo of the old bats versus modern ones [1].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_bat#Variations

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_bat#/media/File%3AHi...

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#47

Post by do_not_redeem »

Sports advancements like this are super cool. This reminds me of how Dick Fosbury changed the high jump in 1968.

It was nice of them to reveal this early in the season—I would have loved to see the drama if they revealed it during the postseason so other teams didn't have time to catch up.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#49

Post by soared »

islewis wrote: post #22

I've always wondered what the technological development of F1 would look like in other sports. This feels pretty close.

A similar feel is pro cycling and the UCI. Cycling is much cheaper to innovate and test, so the UCI is constantly and aggressively banning new things. Unfortunately consumer bikes generally follow the UCI trends so we miss out on improvements, but the sport retains its “purity”. Very important though - the fastest approach in a Tour de France stage would be a carbon fiber recumbent for the flat sections, then switching to a super light (not aero) bike for large climbs, then switching to a heavier and super aero bike for descents.

Other easy tech that was banned is seats with a lip on the back, so you could push your butt up against it to drive more power. And the “puppy paws” handlebar position - more aero but banned outside of time trials.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#50

Post by dagw »

daedrdev wrote: post #4

This seems to most help with guys who were hitting the ball most often not at the sweet spot. By moving the sweet spot to where they are hitting the ball, they might gain some power. A bat needs to be round, a solid piece of wood, less than a certain length and less than a certain diameter. The actual shape is not defined.

By moving the sweet spot to where they are hitting the ball, they might gain some power

Could we end up with custom bats for each player designed around where they tend to hit the ball?

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