Major league baseball could be about to change after the New York Yankees have introduced a redesign of the classic bat.

Nicknamed the “torpedo bat”, it’s shown a noticeable improvement in the team’s performance and helped them set a team record for the amount of home runs.

ITV News looks at how this could change the sport.

What’s a ‘torpedo bat’?

A traditional baseball bat is thicker at one end with a consistent gradual taper towards the thinner handle.

The new design features a bulkier tip that quickly tapers to a thinner handle giving rise to the nickname “torpedo bat.”

The new bats were developed by Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees staff member, to bring more mass to the part of the bat striking the ball.

“You’re going up with a weapon that can be better,” said former Yankees infielder Kevin Smith.

“It’s fractions of an inch on the barrel differentiating these outcomes,” he added.

Yankees player, Cody Bellinger, was first presented with the new shaped bat last season in a practice session with the Chicago Cubs. He didn’t use it in a game then, but said he notices the difference now.

“I started swinging this one in spring or before spring, kind of early on, and I was like, ‘Oh it feels good’,” Bellinger said.

“It was an ounce lighter than the one I was swinging, but I think the way the weight was distributed felt really good,” he added.

Major League Baseball only has a few rules about the shape of bats, with all new models needing approval by their governing body.

On the shape and size of bats, they said it should 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,” they added.

They also stipulate that they may be a cupped indentation just over one inch in depth, two inches wide and with at least a one-inch diameter.

How have they affected the Yankees’ performance?

In Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Yankees hit a team record of nine home runs. They hit a further four in Sunday’s game, matching the Detroit Tigers 2006 record of 15 across the first three games of a season.

“That’s just trying to be the best we can be,” Yankees’ manager, Aaron Boone said on Sunday.

“I say to you guys all the time, we’re trying to win on the margins and that shows up in so many different ways,” he added.

Jazz Chisolm Junior hit two home runs on Sunday and said he noticed the improvement.

“I love my bat,” Chisolm joked.

“I think you can tell. It doesn’t feel like a different bat. It just helps you in a real way I guess.”

The ‘torpedo bats’ are within Major League Baseball’s rules and as such there’s nothing stopping other teams from adopting the new design themselves.

If the Yankees continue to see encouraging results like those from this weekend, the design could likely become a familiar sight on the field.

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