Rob Manfred Praise Bats Torpedo: “Absolutely good” for MLB

Rob Manfred, MLB commissioner, reiterated that Bat Torpedo is legal and added that it is completely good for the game

The Major Baseball Commissioner, Rob Manfredaffirms that the Bato Porodo is “absolutely good for baseball” after its boom last week after a series of home runs from the New York Yankees.

“I think issues such as the Bat Torpedo and the debate around him show that baseball still occupies a unique place in our culture,” Manfred told The New York Times in a question and answer session published on Sunday. “People go crazy about something that, after all, is nothing. The bats meet the rules.”

The Yankees connected nine home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on March 29, and the use of the Bat torpedo by several players generated some scrutiny.

But the BAT, as Manfred pointed out, has been used for some years since Aaron Leanhardtthen Coach of the Yankees and current member of the Miami Marlins team, helped develop it to give more mass to the optimal point. The Toleter of the Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton, was one of the players who used the Bat in 2024 and said he plans to continue using him after recovering from his injuries in both elbows.

“In fact, players have been changing the ideal position of the bats for years,” Manfred to Times told. “But this shows that there is something in the game that is more important than what is captured by television ratings, income or any of those things, when discussed and debate about it.”

Last week, the Yankees manager, Aaron Boonedefended the use of the torpedo bats, stating that it is an example of “simply trying to be the best possible.” Several players and teams have asked for these bats last week, which meet the relatively simple mlb rules about the wood shape.

Manfred addressed other issues in his extensive interview with El Times. The commissioner praised the robot referees test to sing balls and strikes during spring training and said that he hopes the system will be used in major leagues in the near future, possibly, even, next season.

“It won’t be in 2025. It would be in 2026,” Manfred said. “That’s why I’m not sure: we could go to the MLBPA and say that we want to do it in 2026. Since it is a year of negotiations, it would not be surprising if they said: ‘Let’s solve this in the negotiations. Let’s wait.'”

Manfred also reiterated his desire that the MLB expands, stating that he hopes to have “at least chosen the cities” for when he retired as commissioned in 2029.

Information from The Associated Press used in this report.