The New York Yankees have started the MLB season in historic fashion, but not everyone is celebrating.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has launched a fierce critique of the team’s newly designed “torpedo bats,” accusing the Bronx Bombers of bending the rules to gain an unfair advantage.
Portnoy voiced his frustration following the Yankees’ explosive offensive display in their series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
On Saturday, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Aaron Judge made history by hitting three consecutive home runs – something no Yankees trio had ever done before.
The power surge didn’t stop there, as Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. also went deep, bringing the team’s total to a record-breaking nine homers in a single game.
New York went on to dominate the series, winning 20-9 on Saturday before securing a 12-3 victory on Sunday, during which they hit another four home runs.
In total, the Yankees smashed 15 home runs in their first three games – more than any MLB team since 2006.
However, their offensive explosion has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding their so-called torpedo bats.
During Saturday’s broadcast, Yankees commentator Michael Kay explained what makes these bats unique: “They moved a lot of the wood into the label so the harder part of the bat is going to strike the ball.”
Portnoy, a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, was far from impressed. Taking to X in an “emergency press conference,” he delivered a scathing assessment of the Yankees’ use of the bats while sporting Red Sox gear.
“Of course, the Yankees hired an MIT physicist to basically take wood from the other parts of the bat – like near the handle label – and put it in the sweet spot to make the sweet spot bigger,” he claimed.
According to Portnoy, the change was specifically made to help struggling Yankees players.
“They did this because Anthony Volpe sucks and he kept getting jammed and sawed off and we’re like, ‘How do we make him not suck? Let’s just make this bat called a torpedo bat. Where basically, you swing and you make contact on the handle, get sawed off, it’s a homerun,” he said.
The Barstool Sports founder then took aim at the Yankees’ sudden power surge, suggesting that even Aaron Judge, who has denied using the torpedo bats, is benefiting from them.
“So I think the Yankees have hit like, I think, 13 home runs. Jazz Chisholm, or whatever that guy, he’s got like 13 home runs. Aaron Judge is hitting home runs, he’s saying he’s not using the torpedo bats, he is, take a look,” he continued.
Portnoy left no doubt about where he stands on the issue, outright calling the bats illegal.
“If you get sawed off, or you hit the ball off the label, that means you’re not getting your hands through enough and you stink. Just taking the bat and making the thing like a corked bat with this torpedo hump, so all you gotta do is make contact, it’s a home run… That just makes someone who stinks better.
‘That’s just some geek from MIT ruining 100 years of baseball or 200 years of baseball. So listen, if MLB wants to sit on their a** and not outlaw this torpedo bat, then all the teams around going to do it and every game is gonna be 100-98, there’s gonna be 3,000 home runs,” Portnoy concluded.
MLB’s official bat regulations state that “The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.”
As the debate rages on, the Yankees continue to dominate, but questions remain about whether their red-hot start is the result of skill – or science.
What are your thoughts on the torpedo bat controversy???
