MLB commissioner Rob Manfred isn’t about to torpedo baseball’s offense-boosting bats.
Actually, 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 Times.
No, not as a result of MLB needs the Yankees to succeed, as some conspiracy theorists want to believe. 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 talk round it exhibit 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 advised The Occasions. “The bats adjust to the foundations.”
Torpedo bats have extra of the barrel centered across the individualized frequent level of contact for every participant.
“Gamers have truly been transferring the candy spot round in bats for years,” Manfred says. “Nevertheless it simply demonstrates that one thing in regards to the recreation is extra essential than is captured by tv rankings or income or any of these issues, when you’ve the discussions and debates about it.”
Pitchers started to complain in regards to the torpedo bats throughout opening weekend, when the Yankees swept a three-game series from the Brewers by tying an MLB report 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 harm this season, however declined to draw any correlation between the two.
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 usually hear in regards to the steadiness between pitching and hitting and people types of points,” he mentioned. “One factor we realized via all of the analysis that we did with followers is that athleticism issues essentially the most, possibly greater than the rest. Something you do this promotes defensive athleticism, stolen bases. Motion, motion, the flexibility to indicate how athletic you’re. Any modifications that enable the showcasing of the athleticism of your gamers is big.”
