If you’re a baseball fan, chances are you’ve come across the buzz surrounding the so-called “torpedo bats.” These bats have quickly become a hot topic, initially popularized by New York Yankees players and now widely discussed across social media, forums, and beyond. The bats were touted as a game-changer, seemingly giving hitters an edge that helped the Yankees pile on home runs and cruise toward a playoff run. In just three games, the Yankees hit an impressive 15 home runs, leading many to believe they had discovered a cheat code to unlock a hitter’s full biomechanical potential.
FINAL: Tigers 5, Yankees 0.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 8, 2025
It all seemed too good to be true—until reality hit. The Detroit Tigers snapped the Yankees back to earth, handing them a brutal loss and exposing the limits of the bat’s so-called “magic.” In a dominant performance, Tigers ace Tarik Skubal—last season’s AL Cy Young winner—took the mound and completely shut the Yankees down. He gave up only four hits over six innings, didn’t walk a single batter, and retired sixteen consecutive hitters after allowing two singles to open the game. The torpedo bats? Nowhere to be found.
The Yankees were defeated 5-0 in the game, and fans were quick to express their disappointment. Skubal wasn’t the only Tiger who stood out—Spencer Torkelson blasted a homer in the fourth inning, followed by two more from Zach McKinstry and Dillon Dingler. Kerry Carpenter added another long ball in the fifth, and from there, the game slipped out of the Yankees’ reach. After being red-hot, the Yankees’ bats suddenly went cold, and not even Aaron Judge could turn things around. He struck out during a crucial moment, and the entire lineup looked out of sync.
The Yankees’ fanbase didn’t hold back their frustration. One particularly blunt comment read, “You are an absolute disgrace,” reflecting how let down fans felt after such a promising start to the season. While injuries or absences can sometimes explain poor performance, this loss couldn’t be pinned on anything specific—except maybe the overhyped bats. Cody Bellinger was missing due to food poisoning from eating chicken wings, but his absence alone doesn’t explain the collapse.
And with that collapse came a wave of online mockery. One fan sarcastically wrote, “HAAAAHAAAA SO MUCH FOR THEM TORPEDO BATS,” mocking the bats’ sudden failure. The bats, which had been hyped as revolutionary, were now being ridiculed. It turns out that skill, not hardware, wins games—something top-tier players like Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, and Shohei Ohtani seemed to understand, as none of them jumped on the torpedo bat trend.
The backlash didn’t stop there. Another fan compared the bats to failing stocks, joking that “torpedo bat shares just nosedived.” And the skepticism wasn’t new—Max Muncy had tried the bat in a previous game, only to abandon it mid-match after struggling. He went back to his regular bat—and improved.
Even the bat’s legality was questioned early on, with fans speculating whether it conformed to MLB regulations. However, no violations were found, and the design was deemed legal. Interestingly, Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league is even considering using them, suggesting the bats might still have a future, albeit uncertain.
Ultimately, the torpedo bats may not be the breakthrough they seemed to be. Whether it was a fluke or a failed experiment, the bats have lost much of their initial shine. The conversation continues—were the Yankees simply lucky at first, or is there something valuable in the design that just needs better application? Fans and analysts are still debating, and only time will tell if the torpedo bat era is truly over—or just getting started.