A Canadian company is currently scrambling to keep up with a sudden wave of interest, after a breakout weekend for baseball’s latest innovation: the torpedo bat.
The somewhat unusual-looking bat shifts the barrel’s biggest mass closer to the hitter’s hands.
It has became an overnight sensation after the New York Yankees launched a jaw-dropping 15 home runs during their recent season opening series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Nine of those bombs came in a single game, with five Yankees swinging torpedo bats.
Since then, Quebec-based bat manufacturer B45 has been inundated with calls and messages from players eager to get their hands on one.
B45, known for crafting birch bats for over two decades, is one of several manufacturers producing torpedo bats.
The design has truly hit the big leagues after last weekend’s slugfest.
Demand has exploded across the baseball world.
The company’s GM says that to them, it feels like every single baseball player right now is interested in getting their hands on these bats.
They have been getting requests from Japan and Taiwan, and in the US, with professional players taking a major interest.
The torpedo bat is the brainchild of Aaron Leanhardt, a former MIT physicist and ex-Yankees coach, who now works for the Miami Marlins.
While traditional bats concentrate mass at the very end, torpedo bats shift it lower, right at the so-called “sweet spot.”
Twelve current big leaguers are swinging the Canadian-made torpedo bat. That number is expected to grow fast.
B45, which employs 10 people at its facility in Quebec City, has ramped up production and expects to start shipping more bats to pro players by the end of next week.
The company has received 30 requests from major leaguers and dozens more from amateurs.
