Minnesota Twins fans could use a distraction following an 0-4 start to the 2025 MLB season, and center fielder Byron Buxton might have given them a small one via his recent comments. The 2022 All-Star is the latest player to weigh in on the emerging torpedo bats, which have commanded much attention through the first week of the campaign.
New York Yankees play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay piqued curiosity when he brought attention to a uniquely shaped bat that Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. were swinging in versus the Milwaukee Brewers last weekend. The team blasted nine home runs and crushed its opponent, 20-9, on Saturday afternoon.
The torpedo bat is skinnier at the top and carries a thicker barrel, with more wood being moved to the “sweet spot.” This innovative approach is obviously designed to increase contact, something the Yankees and plenty of teams have struggled with in the recent past. While many fans relish the infusion of offense this customized lumber could bring, there is plenty of dissenting opinions circulating among the baseball-watching public.
Buxton does not want to hear it. “Everyone is blowing up the Yankees about all the homers they hit,” the 31-year-old told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “Same guys you see hit homers are the same guys that hit homers last year. It’s not that big of a deal.
“Its like when the sweeper came around. We were like ‘what’s a sweeper?’ We never heard of sweepers. And now we’ve never heard of torpedo bats and now they pop. People talk about kick change. What’s a kick change? I don’t know. Its a screwball I guess.”
Is the Twins star simplifying the issue?
Byron Buxton is essentially reducing the torpedo bats to the latest controversial change that fans will become accustomed to as time passes. He is probably right, but should the masses become numb to this concept?
Overcoming hitting slumps by making adjustments is an integral part of baseball. The torpedo bat compensates for a flaw in a player’s swinging approach and presumably ease their burden to induce hard contact. Although it goes without saying that skill is still required to put the bat on the ball, it is fair to raise concerns about the precedent this legal modification can have on the sport moving forward.
Just because the technology and brainpower to create something exists does not mean it should necessarily be put to use. The late and fictional John Hammond taught us that much. However, considering that Buxton and the Twins are scuffling at the dish (just six runs through their first four games), they might benefit from the torpedo bats.
Catcher Ryan Jeffers brandished one over the weekend, and the trend could continue to pervade Minnesota and clubhouses around MLB. This will be a storyline worth tracking throughout the season. For now, however, Twins fans just want their team to get a W.
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