It’s All About the Girth

“Early in the 2023 season, Aaron Leanhardt started asking New York Yankees hitters what they needed to perform better … An MIT-educated physics professor at the University of Michigan for seven years, Leanhardt left academia for athletics specifically to solve these sorts of problems. And as he spoke with more players, the framework of a solution began to reveal itself. With strikeouts at an all-time high, hitters wanted to counter that by making more contact. And the easiest way to do so, Leanhardt surmised, was to increase the size of the barrel on their bat … The bat had its big debut over the weekend, as the Yankees tied a major league record with 15 home runs over their first three games.” ESPN: What is a torpedo bat? Inside MLB’s next big thing. (Finally, an edge for the Yankees…)