Report: Texas Rangers Plan To Experiment With Yankees' New Torpedo Bats

Several Texas Rangers players will start using the New York Yankees' new torpedo bats.

Sep 13, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Texas Rangers shortstop Josh Smith (8) hits a single during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Torpedo bats have taken the baseball world by storm over the last few days, and that storm has reached the Texas Rangers.

According to a report from Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required), multiple Rangers players plan to start using the new bat design.

Per Grant's report, Joc Pederson is fully onboard and says he will start using torpedo bats immediately. Josh Smith and Jake Burger are being a bit more cautious, however, and want to test them out first to see how they feel before using them in a game.

Torpedo bats are rapidly becoming commonplace throughout the league following the New York Yankees' massive success with them last weekend. With several players using the new bats, the Yankees tied an MLB record with 15 home runs over their first three games. They also set a franchise record with 36 runs.

By concentrating more of the bat's wood in the barrel closer to the handle, torpedo bats can help batters hit the ball harder. While they have an unusual shape and appearance compared to standard bats, they are perfectly legal according to MLB's bat specifications.

While the new bats may help some hitters, they could feel uncomfortable for others, so not everyone is using them right away.

It will be interesting to see if the Texas players see an impact, if any. Pederson is off to a terrible start this season (1-for-13 entering play on Tuesday), so he has nothing to lose.

Burger (.188 batting average) and Smith (.143 OPS) are also struggling, so it's not surprising that they're open to making a change.

If they start hitting better with the new bats, don't be surprised if other Rangers follow suit. After sputtering last year, the team's offense has remained quiet thus far with just 16 runs over its first five games, so it's worth seeing if torpedo bats provide a boost.

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