MLB commissioner Rob Manfred isn’t about to torpedo baseball’s offense-boosting bats.
In reality, Manfred mentioned that the torpedo bats that the Yankees and different groups are utilizing to slug their approach to early-season victories are “completely good for baseball” throughout a Q&A with The New York Instances.
No, not as a result of MLB desires the Yankees to succeed, as some conspiracy theorists need to consider. However as a result of controversy injects life into baseball at a time when rankings are declining and ESPN is ending a longtime tv broadcasting partnership.
“I consider that points just like the torpedo bat and the controversy round it display the truth that baseball nonetheless occupies a singular place in our tradition, as a result of folks get into a whole frenzy over one thing that’s actually nothing on the finish of the day,” Manfred informed The Instances. “The bats adjust to the principles.”
Torpedo bats have extra of the barrel centered across the individualized frequent level of contact for every participant.
“Gamers have truly been shifting the candy spot round in bats for years,” Manfred says. “However it simply demonstrates that one thing concerning the sport is extra essential than is captured by tv rankings or income or any of these issues, when you’ve gotten the discussions and debates about it.”
Pitchers started to complain concerning the torpedo bats throughout opening weekend, when the Yankees swept a three-game sequence from the Brewers by tying an MLB document with a 15-home run barrage.
Giancarlo Stanton, who had a legacy-making postseason run because the Yankees reached the 2024 World Sequence, was among the many MLB gamers who used a torpedo bat final season.
He’s sidelined by an elbow damage this season, however declined to attract any correlation between the 2.
Sports activities are sometimes accused of tweaking their guidelines to favor scoring and offense to seize followers’ consideration.
Manfred mentioned MLB isn’t essentially attempting to create extra residence runs as a lot as it’s much less downtime.
“You typically hear concerning the stability between pitching and hitting and people kinds of points,” he mentioned. “One factor we realized via all of the analysis that we did with followers is that athleticism issues probably the most, perhaps greater than anything. Something you do this promotes defensive athleticism, stolen bases. Motion, motion, the power to point out how athletic you’re. Any adjustments that enable the showcasing of the athleticism of your gamers is large.”
