LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Baseball bats made in Louisville have drawn some national attention after the New York Yankees hit 15 home runs in three games last weekend. 

Hillerich & Bradsby Co. has created more than 4,000 different bat models in its 141-year history. The new torpedo bat model is different than a traditional model, as the wood is moved lower down on the barrel after the label and shapes the end like a bowling pin. The weight of the bat is shifted from the end of the barrel to the middle. 

Yankees' hitters Cody Bellinger and Austin Wells used the models made by Louisville Slugger and hit home runs.

Louisville Slugger makes torpedo bat - March 31, 2025.jpeg

Torpedo bats made at Louisville Slugger Museum and Bat Factory in Louisville, Ky. on March 31, 2025. (WDRB Media photo)

"We're continuously working with players to innovate and help them find a way to have an edge at the plate as long as long as it's in the rules of Major League Baseball," said Rick Redman, VP of Corporate Communications for Hillerich & Bradsby Co. "Players are looking for an edge at the plate so they can be consistent and help their team."

Bob Hillerich, VP of Manufacturing and Product Development at Hillerich & Bradsby Co, said the torpedo bats have been in use as far back as November 2023. 

He said there have been five iterations of the bat for Bellinger, and 11 different versions of the torpedo bat. 

"It's everything now about how to get the maximum performance for every single player," Hillerich said. "The work we have been doing the past three or four years is paying off." 

The bats are legal.

MLB has relatively uncomplicated bat rules, stating under 3.02: “The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.” It goes on to state there may be a cupped indentation up to 1 1/4 inches in depth, 2 inches wide and with at least a 1-inch diameter, and experimental models must be approved by MLB.

"I'm excited about it, I'm excited for baseball," Hillerich said. "This weekend really gave notice to it." 

The shape of the bat isn't patented as multiple companies create the torpedo bats besides Hillerich & Bradsby Co. 

Besides Bellinger and Wells, Anthony Volpe, Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all homered in the Yankees' 20-9 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Yankees set a team record with nine home runs in the game.

The Yankees hit four more homers in a 12-3 win Sunday and their 15 homers through the first three games matched the 2006 Detroit Tigers for the most in major league history.

"That’s just trying to be the best we can be,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. “"That’s one of the things that’s gotten pointed out. I say to you guys all the time, we’re trying to win on the margins and that shows up in so many different ways."

Bellinger first was presented with the torpedo-shape concept in a batting practice session last season with the Chicago Cubs but did not use it in a game. He was given a more advanced version during spring training this year.

“I started swinging this one in spring or before spring, kind of early on, and I was like, ‘Oh it feels good,’” Bellinger said. “It was an ounce lighter than the one I was swinging, but I think the way the weight was distributed felt really good.”

Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers, switched from a maple Louisville Slugger to a birch bat and cited MLB’s 2010 rule change narrowing the maximum diameter from 2.75 inches.

“I’m usually a maple guy, but birch for me allows me to get the bigger barrel because I wasn’t grandfathered in,” Bellinger said. “So it’s all within regulation. They made sure that before the season even started, knowing that I imagine at some point the way these bats look that it’s probably going to get out at some point.”

Top stories:

Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.