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How do 'torpedo bats' work? We asked baseball physicists to explain
npr ^ | 04/02/2025 | Bill Chappell

Posted on 04/02/2025 2:25:21 PM PDT by BenLurkin

click here to read article


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To: BenLurkin
Or maybe the pitchers they have been facing suck?

Asking for a friend.

21 posted on 04/02/2025 3:27:09 PM PDT by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: yesthatjallen

https://youtube.com/shorts/BZ5lz23P7Ws?si=ahU4rcucLXA-4glC


22 posted on 04/02/2025 3:31:26 PM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) Be careful what you say. Your refrigerator may be listening & reporting you.)
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To: yesthatjallen

(The original Torpedo Bats)


23 posted on 04/02/2025 3:33:11 PM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) Be careful what you say. Your refrigerator may be listening & reporting you.)
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To: Celerity

:-)

(No beating around the bush, eh?)

24 posted on 04/02/2025 3:37:52 PM PDT by Songcraft
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To: Hot Tabasco

“...the reduction of mass between the sweet spot and the end of the bat will result in less energy applied to the ball when hit in that area...”

You are so right. The design was to make the sweet spot of the bat concentrated with harder wood and a more whip like action if the ball was struck at that point. But they gave up the end of the bat “dying quails” as the lack of wood at the end doesn’t support hitting a ball with enough force to carry it to the outfield and drop in. And there have been some bats that have shattered at the end without the wood compression. So if they hit it “on the screws,” it will fly faster and farther. But miss the spot, and the bat takes away hits.

Another thing I haven’t seen is someone warning of the shot back through the middle. This problem was equated with using metal bats and MLB refusal. If one came back through the middle the pitcher could be severely injured if not killed. Same problem. Hope that doesn’t happen for the purposes of putting butts in the seats with the long ball.

wy69


25 posted on 04/02/2025 3:47:00 PM PDT by whitney69
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To: ComputerGuy

The Orlando Cepeda bat. Didn’t help me.


26 posted on 04/02/2025 4:10:20 PM PDT by xone ( )
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To: xone

Another model I remember was the Nelson Fox version.
It had the thickest handle of any bat I ever held.


27 posted on 04/02/2025 4:16:31 PM PDT by ComputerGuy ( )
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To: Celerity

And “No matter what, you Always know when you have a Hiney in your hands!”.


28 posted on 04/02/2025 4:21:24 PM PDT by OKC Patriot ("Never Forget"!)
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To: yesthatjallen
Don't rule out aerodynamics. A cylinder has more aerodynamic drag than a modified ellipsoid.

Batters gain more by increasing the speed of their swing than they can by increasing the weight of the bat.

https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/bats/batw8.html

https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2019/05/debunking-bat-speed-myths/

29 posted on 04/02/2025 4:28:47 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: oldbill
...why hasn’t bat design done this years ago.



30 posted on 04/02/2025 4:40:17 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: BenLurkin

The 1958 World Series, bases loaded, bottom of the 9th and the Wilmington Wildcats were down 5-2.
Joe Biden strode to the plate brandishing a 60 oz. bat he carved himself from a lightning-struck tree. He called it “Corn Pop.”
He pointed it at the flagpole on the left field wall.
Well, he hit that first pitch so hard that the ball disintegrated. The umpires unanimously agreed it was a grand slam, winning the game, and the series.
True story man.


31 posted on 04/02/2025 5:06:52 PM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives)
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To: BenLurkin

None of this means anything if the bats are afraid. Offer some rum to Jobu and he remove fear from the bats.


32 posted on 04/02/2025 5:13:06 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: BenLurkin

If the opinion rendered in the video was correct, you could achieve the same objective by choking up on the bat.


33 posted on 04/02/2025 5:18:18 PM PDT by Paal Gulli
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To: ComputerGuy

Man, you’re old, but I’ve got a question. Where on the bat did they put the unibrow?


34 posted on 04/02/2025 6:09:32 PM PDT by gnickgnack2 ( Oh, Trumpy days are here again....)
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To: BenLurkin

Pitchers are going to come in on hitters hands or shave the outside corner.


35 posted on 04/02/2025 7:44:17 PM PDT by lurk (u)
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To: FlipWilson

😆


36 posted on 04/02/2025 8:11:37 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: BenLurkin
But it's worth noting that of the Yankees' nine home runs last Saturday, three were hit by Aaron Judge — using his normal, non-torpedo bat. it's worth noting that of the Yankees' nine home runs last Saturday, three were hit by Aaron Judge — using his normal, non-torpedo bat.

Don't bother us with details!

37 posted on 04/03/2025 7:56:03 AM PDT by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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