What is a 'Torpedo Bat'? An expert from Louisville Slugger breaks it down

CINCINNATI — About one week into the MLB season and all anyone wants to talk about is the “Torpedo Bat."

The Reds beat the Texas Rangers 14-3 at home during their second homestand of the season, a win that was highlighted by Elly De La Cruz's 2 home runs and seven RBIs, all while using the torpedo bat for the first time.

“I think it’s more the player than that the bat, I really do,” Reds Manager Terry Francona said after the Reds win.

Louisville Slugger makes the bats. It began production two years ago, and while it was used by some last season, it has taken Major League Baseball by storm this year.

“We are a 141-year-old company, two thoughts were, ‘that’s different’ and ‘I don’t know if the players are going to like it or not’,” Bobby Hillerich, is the Vice President of Manufacturing and Product Development at Hillerich and Bradsby Co., Louisville Slugger’s parent company, said.

Former New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, now the Reds catcher, was the one who suggested the Reds try it after the Yankees widely adopted it in the 2024 season.

“Everything now about how to get the maximum performance for every single player…There (are) probably eleven different iterations of the Torpedo Bat already out there,” Hillerich said.

What exactly is a Torpedo Bat? Watch the video below to see a break down of the biggest difference compared to a normal bat:

To understand how the bat works, you need to understand the term sweet spot. The sweet spot is the part of the bat that has the most ‘pop.’

“If you hit outside of the sweet spot on the wood bat, you are only going to get 60 percent of its power,” Hillerich said.

The sweet spot is on the part of the barrel of the bat where players ideally want to make contact, but after studying swings for the past two seasons, Louisville Slugger started shifting where the wood is.

“We’ve now moved it down to where the hitter is hitting all the time regularly, and you can’t get him to change his swing. If you can move that sweet spot, which is about the size of a silver dollar, it’s going to make a difference for the performer,” Hillerich said.

Major League Baseball says the bats are legal. If the ball keeps flying out of the ballpark, torpedo bats might be more than a fad.

Hillerich and Bradsby Co