When Wood is Wood: The Myth, Science, and Swagger of MLB Bats

For a brief stretch near the start of the 2025 Major League Baseball season, the most talked-about thing on the field wasn’t a breakout rookie or a major career milestone. It was a bat.

Specifically, it was a torpedo-shaped bat. With a wide barrel that tapered toward the end — sort of like an elongated bowling pin —  this stick was being wielded by a few players in the New York Yankees lineup. And almost immediately, the Yankees launched a barrage of home runs, prompting fans, broadcasters, and even rival teams to wonder:

Had the MLB quietly stumbled into a new era of bat technology?

The buzz spread quickly. Within days, the design — created by a physicist working with Yankees’ coaches and its analytics department — was dubbed the ”torpedo bat.” Coverage transcended sports media, with the bat earning coverage from the likes of NPR, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic. Orders for the bat reportedly flooded in from nearly every major league team.

But as fast as the torpedo bat appeared to take over baseball, it just as quickly faded into the background. Why?

“It’s generally been decided that torpedo bats are not the amazing things they appeared to be on the opening day of the season with the Yankees-Brewers,” said Dr. Lloyd Smith.

‘Wood is Wood’ — No Matter How You Shape It

Smith is a mechanical engineering professor at Washington State University who runs the school’s Sports Science Lab — a facility that’s been testing baseballs, bats, and performance variables for decades. The lab has helped set standards for leagues like the NCAA and USA Baseball, and Smith was one of 10 experts tapped by MLB to investigate the infamous “juiced ball” controversy several years ago.

According to Smith, all the buzz around the torpedo bat raised an interesting question. In a sport that revolves so heavily around timing, precision, and power — especially in today’s slugging-obsessed era — how much of a hitter’s success can we actually attribute to the bat itself?

That question led me down a rabbit hole and deep into the history of the sport. And what I found was both fascinating and surprisingly simple — at least according to Smith.

“Wood is wood,” he said. “It’s a natural material, and you try to get good wood, [but] people even today aren’t sure what ‘good wood’ is… There’s lots of thought out there, but there’s not a 100% consensus.” 

A quick look throughout baseball history, however, shows that there’s been no shortage of theories when it comes to what makes the ideal bat.

A Brief History of Bats in the Major Leagues

The size, shape, and make of the wooden baseball bat has never been static in professional baseball. Since the earliest days of the game, bats reflected the shifting priorities, strategies, and even superstitions of hitters across generations.

In the 19th century, no rules existed governing bat size or shape. Players typically made their own, often using whatever wood was available — sycamore, hickory, cherry, and even pine — and the designs were wildly inconsistent. Some were flat like cricket bats, others thick and club-like.

Standardization arrived in the late 1800s, when rules capped the maximum length at 42 inches and the diameter at 2.61 inches. These limits are still in place today.

During the Dead Ball Era (roughly 1900–1920), heavier bats with thick handles were the norm. Players prioritized contact and ball placement over power, and they believed mass mattered more than swing mechanics.

This began to change with the rise of sluggers like Babe Ruth, whose long, heavy, hickory bat became iconic.

By the mid-20th century, ash became the dominant wood used for professional bats. Its lighter weight and strong grain structure allowed for quicker swings and more balanced designs. Louisville Slugger became the gold standard as players gravitated toward similar shapes and profiles.

Then in the 1990s and early 2000s, maple surged in popularity. Despite being heavier and denser than ash, maple became the preferred wood for many hitters, driven more by anecdotal success (and perhaps a little pharmaceutical help) than measurable performance differences.

Maybe you’ve heard of a power hitter by the name of Barry Bonds? During the time in his career when managers would rather walk him with the bases loaded than risk another dinger, Bonds was using a maple bat. And much of the league followed suit.

Today, bats come in more wood types than ever before — woods like beech, birch, maple, and ash. Crafted by boutique bat makers, modern bats are fabricated using laser precision and player customization. Cupped ends, slimmer handles, and personalized tapers are common.

But for all these changes, the bat’s essential function remains the same: to deliver solid contact in a game where milliseconds and millimeters can  make a huge difference. Does the torpedo bat improve this function? Let’s take a closer look.

What Makes a Bat ‘Batter’? (It’s Not What You Think)

The idea that an innovatively shaped bat could unlock a new era of power hitting is a seductive one, especially in an age of baseball obsessed with launch angles, exit velocity, and home run distance. But according to Smith, the hype doesn’t quite match the science when it comes to the torpedo bat.

“[The torpedo bat] might help certain players in certain ways,” Smith said. “But in terms of it being some kind of breakthrough or game-changer? No.”

That’s because the sweet spot of the bat — the point on the barrel that transfers the most energy to the ball — naturally wants to be around six inches from the end. Smith said moving  that spot any significant distance up or down a bat’s barrel is more difficult than adding a bulge and/or a taper to its shape.

The Sports Science Lab actually tested this by modifying a standard bat into a torpedo shape. The result? The sweet spot barely shifted.

“It is not simply, ‘Stick a bulge on a bat, and that’s your sweet spot,’” he said. “If you move that bulge inside, your sweet spot’s going to go inside, but not as much as the bulge does.”

For  players looking to bring that sweet spot closer to their hands, Smith suggests a simpler solution: just use a shorter bat. (Duh.)

That kind of pragmatism cuts through a lot of the mythology surrounding the impact of baseball bats in the MLB. It’s a mythology often based more on  personal  confidence than sound science.

Need another example? Despite nearly universal acceptance within the sport, greater bat speed will not always result in more power at the plate.

“If you increase your swing speed by getting stronger, then yes, you have absolutely increased your batted ball speed,” Smith said. “But if you do nothing to your strength — if your strength is constant and you increase your swing speed by [using] a lighter-weight bat — your batted ball speed actually goes down.”

That’s right — a faster swing at any cost isn’t always the answer. This idea was a central tenant in a research paper Smith co-authored called “Corked Bats, Juiced Balls, and Humidors: The Physics of Cheating in Baseball.” Published in the American Journal of Physics, the paper was the result of in-depth research that debunked several long-established beliefs that influenced Major League Baseball.

For example, corking a bat won’t turn you into a power hitter. In fact, “a corked bat will actually lower the likelihood of you getting a home run,” Smith said.

In the end, much of what makes a bat “better” in a hitter’s view comes down to feel and belief, not measurable improvement. Rather than physics, it’s often about confidence, curiosity, and an eternal quest for a better, more consistent swing.

What’s Really Changing — the Bat or the Batter?

As hitting have evolved — with hitters chasing power, adjusting to pitching velocity, or adapting to new ballparks and strike zones — bats have evolved in response. And while science can tell us which designs are efficient, the real decisions have historically been based on feel, preference, and perception.

Which brings us to one of the central tensions in bat design: feel versus function.

Most players — even at the highest level — don’t care (or know) much about moment of inertia, torque, or barrel flex. They care about how the bat feels in their hands. If a certain handle, taper, or barrel shape gives a hitter confidence, that’s often more important than any measurable advantage, Smith said.

“Their world is not the laboratory,” he said. “Their world is not wood modulus and wood density and moment of inertia. Their experience is based on what they see, and if they see some really good hitter out there using some new wood, it’s difficult for them to determine whether that performance is the result of the athlete … or is the result of [the bat] the athlete is swinging.”

That helps explain why some bats catch on despite offering little in the way of performance gain. Players often rely on what’s worked for them, what they’ve seen work for someone else, or even what just feels good in the cage.

“If the batter thinks a blue bat is better than a black bat, well, what he thinks is going to affect how he plays,” Smith said.

In this sense, baseball is still as psychological as it is physical. A bat that inspires confidence can be more valuable than one that’s technically optimal — at least to the hitter holding it.

Customization is the Future Innovation in Bats

If ever there’s going to be a true breakthrough in baseball bat performance, it probably won’t come from a new wood or a radical shape. It will come from something much more personal.

According to Smith, the next frontier in bat innovation is customization — tailoring the shape, weight distribution, and feel of a bat to the  body type, strengths, weaknesses, and swing of an individual player.

“Customizing your equipment, I think, is going to become more common,” Smith said. “We have the ability now to collect so much more data than we have before. It used to be super hard to figure out where the ball was landing on the bat, and now they have automated systems to do that so players better understand how they’re hitting.”

So, instead of chasing the next torpedo-shaped sensation, the most forward-thinking hitters may focus on refining the details: swing weight, handle taper, barrel length, and wood density — each fine-tuned to his swing path and timing.

With today’s ball-tracking and bat-impact tech, this isn’t science fiction. It’s already possible.

“It’s so simple to say, ‘I want this new profile, cut me a dozen bats with that shape,’” Smith said. “There are very few barriers. The barriers toward customization are human, not technological.”

Which makes the upcoming MLB Home Run Derby during All-Star Week one of the most fascinating stages for both power fans and bat nerds. The exhibition is all about optimizing power, making it an ideal testing ground for bat customization.

In a controlled environment with no defensive pressure and predictable pitches, it becomes clear which pairings between player and bat generate the purest, most explosive contact.

Will players embrace data-driven customization to squeeze out a few more feet of carry? Or will they lean on the feel and superstitions that have shaped the bat for over a century?

Even if, as Dr. Smith says, “wood is wood,” the bat still holds a kind of mythic place in the game. It’s not just a tool. It’s a trusted companion, a statement of style — even a symbol of identity.

True innovation in bat performance may be marginal despite 150-plus years of changes. But the real power of a bat often lies in belief — how it feels, what it represents, and the confidence it gives the player swinging it.

The Myth and Meaning Behind the Bat

The torpedo bat may not have revolutionized baseball as some hoped, but its moment in the spotlight revealed something deeper about the game. In a sport obsessed with data, physics, and innovation, the wooden bat remains as much about belief as it is about performance. From the hand-carved sticks of the 1800s to today’s laser-cut, player-personalized tools, bats have always reflected the evolution—not just of technology—but of the players themselves.

As MLB hitters continue to chase every edge, the future likely won’t be found in a new shape or wood type, but in how finely a bat can be tuned to match a swing. And yet, even with all the tech and testing, the magic of a bat endures. Because in baseball, sometimes what feels right matters just as much as what is right.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a torpedo bat in MLB?
A torpedo bat is a uniquely shaped wooden bat with a wide barrel and a tapered end, designed to concentrate weight near the sweet spot. Its distinctive "bowling pin" appearance aims to optimize energy transfer on contact.

2. Are torpedo bats legal in Major League Baseball?
Yes, torpedo bats comply with MLB regulations. As long as the bat is made from a single piece of wood, does not exceed 42 inches in length, and has a maximum diameter of 2.61 inches, it's legal for play.

3. Who designed the torpedo bat?
The torpedo bat concept was brought to MLB by physicist Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees analyst. His design was data-driven and aligned with swing path analytics.

4. Which MLB players have used torpedo bats?
Players like Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Cody Bellinger experimented with the torpedo bat early in the 2025 season. Its popularity spread quickly, with other players testing it in batting practice and games.

5. Do torpedo bats increase power or performance?
Scientific testing indicates minimal change in sweet spot location or exit velocity. While the design may feel better to some players, the performance difference is largely psychological rather than mechanical.

6. Are there any downsides to using torpedo bats?
Yes. Because the end of the bat contains less wood, contact near the tip can result in weaker hits or broken bats. Not all hitters benefit equally, and the design may not complement every swing style.

7. Is using a torpedo bat considered cheating?
No. Torpedo bats meet all MLB equipment standards. They are not altered with illegal materials or enhancements and are considered a legitimate tool, not a form of cheating.

8. How long have torpedo bats been around?
Torpedo bats have existed in various training forms for years but gained attention in early 2025 when Yankees hitters used them during a home run surge, sparking widespread interest and debate.