Baseball is a game steeped in tradition and no franchise embodies that ideal more than the New York Yankees. That reality isn't stopping the Bronx Bombers from pushing the envelope to leverage bat technology to their advantage.
Their decision to shift more towards 'torpedo' shaped bats isn't sitting well with the Milwaukee Brewers. In particular, closer Trevor Megill claims the bat looks like something that should be used in slo pitch softball. He was also quoted by the New York Post with his belief that the unconventional bats are "terrible."
Megill's comments aren't overly surprising given how poor he and his pitching staff performed when giving up 20 runs to New York on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees slugged a franchise record nine home runs in the 20-9 victory. It is much easier to complain about the opponents' bat shape than to admit the weak performance of your own teammates.
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Brewers pitcher calls out Yankees for their new torpedo bats
Megill also made it clear that he believes the Yankees will receive preferential treatment from MLB on the matter. That might get him in trouble with league officials. Questioning the integrity of the league could be costly to Megill's wallet in the coming days.
Interestingly, some Brewers' hitters took a different view of the Yankees' innovative bat choice. Veteran Rhys Hoskins admitted he wasn't aware of the switch until after the game but also indicated he wanted to investigate the bats further in the future. It's very possible the shape of New York's bats will be criticized by pitchers and embraced by hitters after the massive power display they put on in the second game of the season.
How are Yankees new bats different from normal bats?
The Yankees employ an MIT Physicist, who is credited with inventing the torpedo bat. While the bat looks funny to us now, all it does is essentially move more wood and mass to the barrel, which should help Yankees hitters improve their exit velocity, along with power statistics, over time.
For example, Orioles hitting coach Cody Asche admitted his team has been looking into said bats for quite some time. If they're working for the Yankees AND MLB deems them legal moving forward, New York won't be the only team making a change.
No matter what, Megill's comments seem like sour grapes after his team got shelled. He and other pitchers around MLB will need to adjust quickly if they don't want to see their ERAs sore at the hands of the Yankees and their torpedo shaped bats.