You score 20 runs, hit 9 bombs, and people start asking questions. That’s exactly what happened to the Yankees on Saturday after they revealed the "torpedo
Riffing off your point about Judge not using the torpedo bats that game. I learned the following from ex-MLB hitter Kevin Barker on the Blair and Barker podcast today.
Hitters of Judge’s calibre are unlikely to use torpedo bats. Torpedo bats are for helping players who tend to miss hitting the ball at the sweet spot of the bat - so the bat is designed differently to give more sweet spot to wherever it is they typically make contact (e.g., if it’s closer to the thumbs - make the bat wider there). Elite hitters don’t need this correction. Torpedo bats are poised to help less talented hitters, not the elite hitters. Torpedo bats, or custom bats in general, are also very expensive, so minor leaguers are unlikely to be able to afford them or use them
Riffing off your point about Judge not using the torpedo bats that game. I learned the following from ex-MLB hitter Kevin Barker on the Blair and Barker podcast today.
Hitters of Judge’s calibre are unlikely to use torpedo bats. Torpedo bats are for helping players who tend to miss hitting the ball at the sweet spot of the bat - so the bat is designed differently to give more sweet spot to wherever it is they typically make contact (e.g., if it’s closer to the thumbs - make the bat wider there). Elite hitters don’t need this correction. Torpedo bats are poised to help less talented hitters, not the elite hitters. Torpedo bats, or custom bats in general, are also very expensive, so minor leaguers are unlikely to be able to afford them or use them
If a hitter is consistently getting the bat on the ball on one spot, but it’s not the conventional “sweet spot”, is that hitter really less talented?
I guess it depends on if you value OBP or SLG more.