NEW YORK – Giancarlo Stanton was ahead of the curve, barreling big-league pitching in 2024 – notably last October – with a “torpedo’’ style bat.
It’s all the rage now, “but when there’s a narrative, that’s how it goes,’’ Stanton said Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, the epicenter of MLB’s infatuation with torpedo bats.
By hitting 15 homers and scoring 36 runs in their first three games, certain Yankees drew nationwide attention for swinging MLB-legal bats with “torpedo’’ barrels extending toward the label.
Stanton slugged seven homers in 14 Yankees’ postseason games last year with a torpedo bat, then arrived at spring training with a severe version of tennis elbow in both elbows.
In mid-February, Stanton suggested that subtle changes to his swing might have caused his condition, which he managed most of last season – only to have it flare up worse during January workouts.
Did torpedo bat contribute to Giancarlo Stanton’s condition?
“You’re not going to get the story you’re looking for,’’ said Stanton, MVP of last year’s AL Championship Series.
Despite that cryptic reply, Stanton said he planned to use the torpedo bat upon his return, which is still without a specific timeline.
Giancarlo Stanton injury update, road back to Yankees lineup
Speaking before the Yanks’ three-game series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Stanton reported improvement in both elbows, though he’s still dealing with pain.
Stanton has begun hitting off the Trajekt pitch simulator, mimicking MLB pitchers, but he’s not exactly close to going out on a minor league rehab assignment.
Essentially, the slugging designated hitter said he’s in “kind of an expedited spring training,’’ but his “grip strength is getting better.’’
It’s about “how fast I can feel comfortable in the box,’’ said Stanton. “Getting as many at-bats as I can off the Trajekt to catch up.’’
Through the Yankees’ first three games of the season, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Anhtony Volpe and Austin Wells have comprised their “torpedo’’ bat group.
That pinstriped quintet combined to hit nine homers during the Yankees’ season-opening sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, with Stanton watching from the sidelines.
“I used my same bat and changed the barrel’’ in 2024, Stanton said of an innovation credited to former Yankees analysis supervisor and MIT physicist Aaron Leanhardt, now with the Miami Marlins.
“It makes a lot a sense, and why hasn’t anyone thought of it in 100-plus years?
‘We want to create an environment where we’re not missing anything… to optimize a player,” manager Aaron Boone said of the Yankees’ winning-on-the-margins theory.
“You wonder why no one has thought of it before, for sure,’’ said Stanton, who tried different model bats in 2024, experimenting by batting against the high-speed pitching machine.
“We’re creatures of habit,’’ said Stanton, seeking similar balance points in transitioning to the torpedo. “The bat’s got to (feel like) an extension of your arm.’’
Torpedo-bat mania in the Bronx
Seventy-two hours after Torpedo Madness struck, Boone sees some humor in it.
“It’s taken on a life of its own… I really just look at it as the evolution of equipment,” said Boone, likening it to the technology in golf clubs.
‘It’s all within (MLB) regulations. It’s a lot more than just, ‘I’ll take the torpedo bat off the shelf over there,” said Boone. ‘Our guys are a lot more invested in it than that.
‘I don’t think this is some revelation,’’ said Boone. “Maybe in some cases for some players, it may help them incrementally. That’s how I view it.’’