The New York Yankees’ newest weapon in the Major League Baseball arms race drew hotly divided takes from the baseball community.

Over the weekend, the team blew past Milwaukee, hitting nine home runs against the Brewers on Saturday — three of them back-to-back — followed by another stunning 12-3 win on Sunday. The team hit 15 homers over the three-game series.

The unveiling of the iconic teams’ “torpedo” bat came with a new single-game home run record, with many attributing it to the controversial bowling-pin-shaped sticks.

Though not new, the Yankees’ stunning win brought the bat into national attention after five players all used it.

The Yankees reportedly turned to their resident MIT physicist on staff to develop the shape, centering more mass where the bat should be striking the ball, ideally.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the Yankees new torpedo-style bats, but they are perfectly legal.

MLB bats must be made from one piece of solid wood, be no more than 2.61 inches in diameter at their thickest part, and not exceed 42 inches in length.

No problems here. pic.twitter.com/70JSOVaoGi

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) March 30, 2025

While the innovative new bat frustrated Brewers pitchers, Texas-Ranger-pitcher-turned-Clovis-sports-car-dealer C.J. Wilson sees the development as needed innovation in the sport.

Wilson owns BMW Fresno, Audi Fresno, and Porsche Fresno. The southpaw pitched for the Rangers and L.A. Angels from 2005 to 2015.

Related Story: Porsche, Audi, BMW Dealerships Exiting Fresno for New Clovis Facility

Changes have come in video or, more controversially, sticky substances for pitchers, he said.

The only real development in terms of equipment has been in uniforms.

“You still see people using the same bats in terms of the shape, diameter, weight that Barry Bonds or Willie Mays or Ted Williams or Ken Griffey, Jr. used decades ago,” Wilson said. “So this is interesting, if it works, then other teams would obviously adopt this.”

Related Story: Torpedo-Shaped Bats Draw Attention After Yankees Hit Team-Record 9 Homers

Pitchers’ Focus on Strikeouts Still Primary Goal: Wilson

Associated Press reports shortstop Anthony Volpe used the bat during Spring Training.

Experimental models must be approved by the MLB. The organization cleared them ahead of the season, according to Sports Illustrated.

MLB’s rules on bats are relatively uncomplicated, with rules on length and diameter, and that they be one solid piece of wood.

Former Yankees infielder Kevin Smith posted online Saturday that Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees front-office staffer who now works for the Miami Marlins, developed the torpedo barrel to bring more mass to a bat’s sweet spot.

Yes, the Yankees have a literal genius MIT Physicist, Lenny (who is the man), on payroll. He invented the “Torpedo” barrel. It brings more wood – and mass – to where you most often make contact as a hitter. The idea is to increase the number of “barrels” and decrease misses. pic.twitter.com/CsC1wkAM9G

— Kevin Smith (@KJS_4) March 29, 2025

“You’re going up with a weapon that can be better,” Smith wrote. “Your ‘just misses’ could be clips, your clips could be flares, and your flares could (be) barrels. And it was true, it’s fractions of an inch on the barrel differentiating these outcomes.”

For the pitcher, the focus on making the batter miss means not much changes on how they can train, two-time All Star Wilson told GV Wire.

Pitchers study where in the strike zone a ball needs to go for each different player.

“If you’re a good pitcher, it’s not going to affect you as much,” he said. “It will affect pitchers that, quote, pitch to contact, but I think that pitching to contact is not in vogue anymore. I feel like most pitchers now are ramping into a strikeout ratio — how many strikeouts per nine innings.”

Top Players Don’t Need the Help: Wilson

New developments help affect mid-tier players more than they affect the elites, Wilson said. He said that was the case when MLB was cracking down on “foreign substances” used by pitchers to help their throws.

“A guy like Vladimir Guerrero back in his prime could have gone up there with a boat paddle or a cricket bat and still got hits. It wasn’t the bat, it was his hand-eye coordination,” Wilson said.

Yankees’ MVP Aaron Judge hit his three home runs on Saturday without the use of the torpedo bat.

The Yankees aren’t the only ones to employ the new device.

Players with the Orioles, Cubs, and Twins also use the bats, Yahoo! Sports reports.

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was also seen using the bat over the weekend.

Analysts surmise the new shape could help boost Volpe’s contact stats after a lackluster season in 2025.

“It just shows that there is still room for innovation and what a lot of people see as a very stagnant equipment development,” Wilson said.