After only three games into the season, the 2025 New York Yankees have already etched their names into the record books for a few different accomplishments. The first record belongs to Austin Wells, who is now the first catcher to hit a leadoff home run on Opening Day. Next came the three home runs on the first three pitches of their second game (via Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge), courtesy of former Yankees’ star hurler Nestor Cortes in the stadium that had been his home the past four years (as well as in 2019).
The third came the same day when they broke the franchise record of home runs in a single game with nine. In doing so, they set a franchise record of 13 homers in a two-game span. Last but not least, there is the MLB record for most home runs in the first three games of a season, which stands at 15; a record shared by the 2006 Tigers and the 2025 Yankees.
All of this amounts to one heck of a start for the mighty Yankees’ offense and one heck of a shellacking for the Milwaukee Brewers’ pitching staff. But there are some fans, commentators and players that are crying foul, taking exception to the Yankees’ new bats. To be fair, the new bats are not corked, not made of an illegal material, and don’t defy parameters; they’re just shaped like a torpedo.
And despite the fact that not all Yankee batters are using them, the onslaught of home runs has many non-Yankee fans calling for the bats to be banned. With these calls growing ever-louder, Yankees’ second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. offered a sharp rebuttal.
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Jazz Chisholm Jr. refutes calls to ban his new favorite bat
In his first 12 at-bats this season and with a new torpedo bat in hand, Chisholm has hit for a .417 average with three home runs. In defending his right to use his new bat, Chisholm said this:
Okay explanation the barrel is bigger and within mlb regulation! For the idiots that say it’s moved to the label you’re an idiot! Nobody is trying to get jammed you just move the wood from the parts you don’t use to the parts you do! You’re welcome no more stress for y’all !
— Jazz Chisholm Jr (@j_chisholm3) March 31, 2025
As Chisholm explains in a rather ill-mannered tweet, the torpedo design moves more of the wood towards the part of the barrel where most contact is made. The bat then tapers towards the end, where contact has never been ideal. This taper is meant to reduce weight, as leaving the bat at maximum width for the full barrel length would slow bat speed and limit the batter’s power.
To Chisholm’s point, there is nothing in the design of these new bats that is against regulation. And further aiding his argument is the fact that the Yankees are not the only team experimenting with this new bat; they’re just the team that has benefitted the most from using it. This is likely why non-Yankees’ fans and players alike hate the new design. Indeed, why not argue for banning the many variations of innovative bat knobs and axe handles that work for many different players on an individual basis, citing unfair advantage? But there is one more point in Chisholm’s argument that is more relevant than the debate about whether or not these bats should be outlawed.
If any team is upset about these new bats being used to devastating effect by the Yankees, there is one optimal solution: place an order and try them yourselves. It doesn’t make sense to complain about something rather than use it to your own advantage. The fact remains, you can’t claim one team has an unfair advantage when the same advantage is readily available to every team.
By all appearances, it seems as though it is only a matter of time before this is the next big thing. And by the All-Star break, we can expect torpedo bats to be commonplace; because if you can’t beat them, you join them. With that said, launch the torpedoes!