The New York Yankees were recently reported to be using a new kind of bat that's been dubbed the "torpedo bat" due to its unique shape and size. The bat, though not much different than a typical bat, has some of the wood and weight moved down the barrel and closer to the label, though Jazz Chisholm Jr. is insistent it's not been moved to the label.
While this bat is catching fire in the league right now, it seemingly debuted last season with Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Trevino of the Yankees at the very least. And there's a running theory going around, first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post, that the torpedo bats are the season for Stanton's ongoing bilateral elbow injury.
Um, what?
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Fact or fiction: Torpedo bats led to Giancarlo Stanton's elbow injuries?
FanSided's Zachary Rotman is a bit skeptical on this theory. Rotman's skepticism makes sense because there haven't been any other reports of injuries connected to the bats and there's no research to back it up.
"The fact that Stanton was able to completely flip his career around at 35 years of age with a bat switch being all that was different suggests that the change was a good thing, but yet, the Yankees think it's actually what hurt him? It's hard to know what to believe, at this point," Rotman wrote. "Stanton has been incredibly injury-prone throughout his Yankees tenure, and the Yankees, in particular, have had trouble avoiding injuries in recent years. While the bat switch might've been the reason, it certainly feels as if the Yankees are simply trying to cover for themselves and their star by saying a random anonymous person who is no longer with the organization caused this nightmarish situation."
This report seems more like a theory than something with facts to back it up. But, if the report turns out to be true, we could see a sharp uptick in injuries, specifically to the upper body extremities like Stanton's elbows, for users of the bat. Names to keep an eye on are Francisco Lindor, Elly De La Cruz, Chisholm Jr., and multiple other Yankees stars. If these names begin to experience extra soreness or hit the IL, the bats could be the issue.
While this is still a running theory, Stanton himself doesn't seem to believe there's any correlation.
"You're not going to get the story you're looking for, so if that's what you guys want, that isn't going to happen," Stanton told MLB's Bryan Hoch.
If Stanton doesn't believe it caused the injury, it's hard to believe any of the reports indicating otherwise.