MLB commissioner Rob Manfred weighed in on the use of torpedo bats across Major League Baseball after they caused a big stir in the first week of the season.
In a new interview, Manfred issued a reminder that the bats are perfectly legal. In fact, he went further than that, saying that the use of the bats is “absolutely” good for the sport.
“They’re absolutely good for baseball,” Manfred told Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times. “I believe that issues like the torpedo bat and the debate around it demonstrate the fact that baseball still occupies a unique place in our culture, because people get into a complete frenzy over something that’s really nothing at the end of the day.
“The bats comply with the rules. Players have actually been moving the sweet spot around in bats for years. But it just demonstrates that something about the game is more important than is captured by television ratings or revenue or any of those things, when you have the discussions and debates about it.”
In other words, the bats are legal, and the chatter about them has brought attention to the sport. That is probably correct. Some opposing pitchers have been unhappy about their usage, but those objections are not going to make a difference.
The New York Yankees were the first team to use the bats, but their offense has tellingly cooled off after an initial onslaught of home runs. The bats may bring certain advantages, but they certainly are not going to turn a bad hitter into a good one.
