Torpedo bats are taking baseball by storm. Could they make appearance in Sask.?

In the span of just over a month, an “invention” by the New York Yankees has become the one of the hottest trends in all baseball.

When Major League Baseball’s regular season started at the end of March, the Yankees unveiled the torpedo bat to the public.

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The torpedo bat essentially changes the location of the barrel, the widest part of the bat. A standard bat has a barrel at the end, while the torpedo bat moves the barrel down from its normal spot, closer to where the label is located.

Shortly after the baseball world learned about the Yankees’ new bats, fans said the torpedo bats were the reason why the Bronx Bombers were able to hit a franchise-record nine home runs in one game against the Milwaukee Brewers on March 29. That three-game weekend series against the Brewers saw the Yankees crush 15 home runs in total, and the team is among MLB’s home run leaders.

Listen to the story on Behind the Headlines:

Vince Shivak owns Back 2 Back Bats in Saskatoon, and creates custom baseball bats for players across Saskatchewan.

Shivak said he thinks the design of the torpedo bat could actually benefit a lot of players, due to the way the game has changed in recent years.

“A lot of batters now have those elbow guards, helmets, a face shield – they’re not as scared to get hit by the pitch anymore. The pitchers can’t really throw at the batters as much as they used to, or else they might get ejected,” Shivak explained.

“The batters are crowding the plate a lot. Now they’re moving the barrel closer to the inside, so you can hit it better.”

Shivak took his first crack at crafting a torpedo bat a couple weeks ago. He said it wasn’t very difficult to make one.

“I have a program set-up to change the location of the barrel, so I’ve got options,” Shivak said. “You can have it more to the label, more in the middle and more at the end, and then also change the diameter. It’s not really difficult as far as manufacturing. It’s the same process.”

Back 2 Back Bats owner Vince Shivak makes custom baseball bats in Saskatoon. On the left is his first attempt at making a torpedo bat and on the right is a standard bat. (Vince Shivak/submitted)

Will the torpedo bat have an impact on minor-league ball in Saskatchewan?

While there haven’t been many orders for torpedo bats just yet, Shivak said he thinks that if torpedo bats become widely available, there will probably be plenty of interest from baseball players throughout Saskatchewan.

“I’m sure if one has one, a lot of other kids are going to be seeing them,” Shivak said.

“I haven’t actually had a demand for it, but I also haven’t advertised that I can make it.”

Greg Brons, the high-performance director for Baseball Sask, said he thinks Saskatchewan could see more torpedo bats popping up on the fields this year.

“I know they’re getting them in the sporting goods stores locally,” he said.

“I think with the Yankees having the success that they did, some kids are going to be looking at it as maybe a quick fix to their swing.”

Back 2 Back bats owner Vince Shivak shows how he creates custom baseball bats. (Vince Shivak/submitted)

Will the torpedo trend continue?

“I think it’s just kind of a quick trend,” Brons added, when asked if the bats could actually have an impact in minor-league baseball.

“That day when Yankees were hitting all those home runs, Nestor Cortes was throwing muffins. I don’t think it was really the bat.”

“That is tough to say,” said Shivak when asked the same question.

“The torpedo bat has been around for a few years, apparently, but it hasn’t really caught on. It might be a fad. It’s really hard to tell. I would be surprised if it was as popular going forward as it is now.”

“They’re going to probably look at it at the sporting goods store and say, ‘Hey, maybe I’ll buy it and try it in batting practice,’ but I don’t think it’s going to really take off around here,” Brons added.

Regardless of whether torpedo bats take in Saskatchewan off or not, the Saskatoon Berries said in a post to X this past week that they’re ready for whatever comes their way.

Our answer to the torpedo bat… what do we call this? pic.twitter.com/MvllPWgrvh

— Saskatoon Berries (@StoonBerries) April 30, 2025