Yankees players using new bat style: Explaining 'torpedo' shape and why it appears to be legal under MLB rules

The second game of the new season saw the New York Yankees put up a historic offensive performance. The Yankees blew out the Milwaukee Brewers 20-9 on Saturday, thanks to a franchise-record nine home runs. Aaron Judge hit three of them and came about three feet short of a fourth homer in the late innings. The nine home runs were one short of the MLB record.

"Wow, what a performance. Kind of a weird, crazy game," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said afterward. "... Obviously, a lot of really great at-bats. Just a weird sky, weird game. Good to get a win."

Early in Saturday's home run barrage, the YES Network broadcast showed a new style of bat several Yankees are using this season, including Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe. Essentially, the Yankees moved the barrel of the bat a little further down and closer to the label, which is where their hitters tend to make contact. Here is the clip:

"You see the shape of Chisholm's bat? The Yankee front office, the analytics department, did a study on Anthony Volpe, and every single ball it seemed like he hit on the label," YES Network broadcaster Michael Kay explained. "He didn't hit any on the barrel, so they had bats made up where they moved a lot of the wood into the label, so the harder part of the bat is going to actually strike the ball. It'll allow you to wait a little bit longer."'

Chisholm and Volpe both hit home runs with their uniquely shaped bats Saturday. Volpe went deep on Opening Day on Thursday as well. Cody Bellinger is using a less exaggerated version of this new bat shape this season. He, too, hit a home run Saturday. It's unclear how many Yankees are using the new bat models, though Judge did not appear to be using one during his at-bats.

"There's ways to move the weight of the bat," Bellinger told the New York Daily News in spring training. "Some guys like top heavy. Some guys like hand-loaded bats. You just gotta find a bat that feels good, that kind of moves with you. I'm a believer in swinging different things ... You can test your swing path, you can test your exit velocity. There's data behind everything now."

Former Yankees infielder Kevin Smith explained this new bat shape is called the "torpedo" and was designed by someone in the team's front office. It's pretty straightforward. The "torpedo" is intended to decrease misses and increase barreled balls.

MLB Rule 3.02 covers the bat itself. Here is the rule:

(a) The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood. 

NOTE: No laminated or experimental bats shall be used in a professional game (either championship season or exhibition games) until the manufacturer has secured approval from Major League Baseball of his design and methods of manufacture.

(b) Cupped Bats. An indentation in the end of the bat up to 1¼ inches in depth is permitted and may be no wider than two inches and no less than one inch in diameter. The indentation must be curved with no foreign substance added.

(c) The bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from its end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance that extends past the 18-inch limitation shall cause the bat to be removed from the game.

NOTE: If the umpire discovers that the bat does not conform to (c) above until a time during or after which the bat has been used in play, it shall not be grounds for declaring the batter out, or ejected from the game.

(d) No colored bat may be used in a professional game unless approved by Major League Baseball.

Rule 3.02(c) is the rule that led to the famous Pine Tar Game between the Yankees and Hall of Famer George Brett's Kansas City Royals in 1983. Rule 3.02(a) provides the maximum bat diameter (2.61 inches) without stipulating where the maximum diameter must occur on the bat. In theory, it could be toward the end of the bat, near the handle, or anywhere in between.

There is a cutout in Rule 3.02 explaining that "experimental" bats can not be used unless MLB gives the stamp of approval. It's unclear whether the "torpedo" model the Yankees are using falls under "experimental." The Yankees aren't hiding these bats. They're plainly obvious, right there for everyone to see, and the team's regional network even explained their design and purpose.

If the "torpedo" bats are against the rules in some way and/or the Yankees did not get the necessarily approval from the league, then they should be subject to discipline. Otherwise it is only a matter of time until other teams begin using similarly shaped bats, especially if the result is a game like Saturday's.