A’s hitters consider using new ‘torpedo’ bats popular in MLB. What are they?
The torpedo bat has Brent Rooker’s attention, and the A’s slugger decided it’s worth giving a try despite using the same bat model since 2018.
And with the new bat’s rising popularity and it becoming a hot topic around baseball, Rooker doesn’t believe it can fix everything hitters have to deal with.
“I hit that homer tonight off the end of the bat, and I feel like, if that’s a torpedo bat, and lose a little wood at the end of the bat, that maybe that’s not a homer,” Rooker said after hitting his second home run of the season Tuesday in a 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs in West Sacramento. “So it’s things like that kinda make you second-guess it.”
Nonetheless Rooker, who hit 69 total home runs between 2023 and 2024 and led the A’s both seasons, has new torpedo bats on the way. His teammate JJ Bleday has been using one early in the season. Other A’s players are curious and will consider using them as they gain popularity around the big leagues. It’s considered one of the biggest changes in bats since maple bats become popular after Barry Bonds hit a record 73 home runs in 2001.
At least 16 MLB players are known to be using the new torpedo bat that was first made popular by Aaron Leanhardt, a coach with the Miami Marlins and former hitting instructor with the New York Yankees, Newsweek and other news outlets have reported.
The new bat is designed to be most dense where hitters make the most contact. In many cases, this is near the label of the bat, which is typically closer to the handle than the middle of the barrel. The bats are shaped like a bowling pin, or as the nickname indicates, a torpedo.
Most players, Rooker said, aren’t tinkerers who would change bats frequently. But every player is different, and some might consider a torpedo bat based on the type of pitcher they’re facing.
“I think a lot of it’s maybe pitcher dependent,” Rooker said. “... But it makes sense to me, if it’s a heavy, right-handed sinker guy trying to run it in on your hands a little more help towards the label and towards your hands a little bit. I’ll have to try it out, just to try to see.
“It’s going to take a lot to make me change. I’ve used the same bat every at-bat that I’ve had since 2018. But I think it’s worth testing out.”
A’s manager Mark Kotsay joked before Tuesday’s game that he wished torpedo bats were around when he played from 1997 to 2013. He pointed to the Yankees, who have helped the new bat style go mainstream after tying an MLB record with 15 home runs in their first three games, including shortstop Anthony Volpe, who hit two of them.
“If there’s a player like Volpe who has talked about hitting ball closer to the label, that they can provide him a little bit more mass in that area and it creates a little bit extra velocity, which then leads to a ball traveling 2% further, 3% further?” Kotsay said. “Three percent is 9 feet right?”
Kotsay pointed out that Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson uses a torpedo bat, and Swanson’s home run on Monday went just over the center field wall.
“I don’t know if there’s any science to it that supports that 2% or 3%,” Kotsay said. “Dansby should be really happy today.”
Swanson didn’t homer Tuesday but did drive in a run on a long double to center field.
The A’s loss Tuesday marked their third straight defeat, including the first two home games of their Sacramento tenure at Sutter Health Park. The Cubs got a first-inning, three-run home run from Seiya Suzuki. Kyle Tucker homered in the third inning, giving him home runs in four straight games.
Rooker and Langeliers each hit their second home run of the season for the A’s. Both were two-run homers, accounting for all the A’s scoring.
A’s pitcher weighs in on bats
The A’s lost for the first time with new ace Luis Severino on the mound. He tossed six innings and allowed six runs, five of them earned, with six strikeouts and three walks.
Severino was asked after the game about the torpedo bats, and didn’t take any issue with hitters giving them a try.
“If they’re working, you keep using them,” Severino said. “I wish you had something for pitchers too. It seems like everything’s working just for the hitters. ... We will start looking for something. Maybe a bigger (strike zone), a bigger plate or something.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 11:08 PM.
