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The "torpedo" bat has taken Major League Baseball by storm, and the Boston Red Sox might be the latest team to get in on the craze.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said in an interview with WEEI that Alex Bregman will use a torpedo bat in Wednesday night's game vs. the Baltimore Orioles. Bregman teased his use of a torpedo bat with a post to his Instagram story on Tuesday:
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Alex Bregman introducing the AB2 to the world on Instagram.
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) April 1, 2025
It’s a Torpedo Bat pic.twitter.com/f34FOgbfx1
Bregman told reporters he will use the torpedo bat in batting practice before deciding whether to use it in-game.
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Torpedo bats are customized bats that tailor the barrel for each hitter. The wood is moved closer to a hitter's sweet spot, typically six to seven inches below the tip of the bat.
The New York Yankees drew attention to the torpedo bat by belting an MLB-record 15 home runs in their opening three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers, including a franchise-record nine homers on Saturday. Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees front-office staffer who now works for the Miami Marlins, invented the torpedo barrel.
While the Yankees made headlines for their success with the torpedo bat, they aren't the only club experimenting with the innovation.
"We had a handful of guys actually swing them in spring training. But I guess, as it turns out, if you don't hit multiple home runs, then it doesn't become a topic of conversation," Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told NESN.
"My guess is we will start to see them more and more as guys swing them and have success, like anything else. It's really, really hard to maintain a competitive advantage given that everyone analyzes everything that everyone else is doing."
Perhaps Bregman's torpedo bat can help spark a Red Sox lineup that has been ice-cold to begin the season. Over the first five games, Boston has a .201 batting average with only three home runs -- two courtesy of Wilyer Abreu. Bregman is 5-for-22 (.227) with a .488 OPS.
The Red Sox are 1-4 with four consecutive losses since their Opening Day victory over the Texas Rangers. They'll look to snap the skid vs. the O's with first pitch for Wednesday's game set for 6:35 p.m. ET.
