The biggest story of the MLB opening day weekend was the New York Yankees mashing the Milwaukee Brewers, and some of those in pinstripes were using “torpedo bats,” which caused a viral sensation.
Massive debate over the torpedo bats, which have the barrel more toward the middle of the bat instead of at the end, filled social media as the Yankees filled the seats in the outfield with baseballs. They hit a team-record nine home runs in the 20-9 victory in their second game of the season, and a few more were hit in the 13-2 rout the following day.
While some saw it as cheating, the bat was proved legal under MLB’s rule book. Still, some pitchers were not too happy, including Brewers stud reliever Trevor Megill, who watched his teammates have issues throughout the weekend.
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“I think it’s terrible,” he said, via The New York Post. “We’ll see what the data says. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I feel like it’s something used in slo-pitch softball. It’s genius: Put the mass all in one spot. It might be bush [league]. It might not be. But it’s the Yankees, so they’ll let it slide.”
CC Sabathia was at Yankees spring training watching hitters like Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger and Anthony Volpe using the bats. As a former pitcher himself – he was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year – Sabathia’s thoughts on the matter carry some weight.
He seems to be all for it.
BOMBS AWAY: VIRAL COVERAGE STIRS DEBATE ON NEW YORK YANKEES’ ‘TORPEDO BATS’
“I think it’s great,” he told Fox News Digital while discussing his partnership with Xyzal as the new season begins. “I think so much stuff has been innovative for pitchers. We have so many things where the stuff is getting better, guys are throwing harder than ever. To see some of these hitters take a little bit of an advantage back – not even with the torpedo bats. The batting machine, the ‘Trajekt,’ to see where the ball is coming out of. You get to see the spin rate of some of these guys.
“If it all helps, I think for the longest time we’ve been trying to figure out how to get offense back in the game. Move the pitcher’s mound back, make the baseball bigger, all these different things to come back. You know how good pitching is. We get one good thing for hitters and then everybody freaked out. But everybody freaked out because it was the Yankees.”
The Yankees were not the only team with players using these bats. New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor, Philadelphia Phillies’ Alec Bohm and Chicago Cubs’ Nico Hoerner were among many others on different teams seen using the different bat to start the 2025 campaign.
Sabathia, though, got to witness the onslaught of offense from the Yankees this past Saturday, when they lit up their former teammate, Nestor Cortes Jr.
However, while the bats are catching flak for that performance, Sabathia thinks it was the Brewers’ pitching that should be blamed.
“For me, I was at the game when Nestor started the other day when they hit the nine homers. It was exciting, but when I went back and was sitting home watching the game, every one of those pitches that was thrown was right down the middle,” he said. “So, I don’t know if it was the torpedo bat or the Brewers pitching, but those pitches I probably could’ve gotten a hit that day.”
The debate may continue as the season goes on, but as long as it is within the rules, Sabathia is all for it, even if some of his fellow pitchers would rather see the traditional barrels on bats moving forward.
FIGHTING ALLERGIES WITH XYZAL
During his illustrious career, allergies were always something Sabathia had to worry about. Like so many, the spring can be tough with allergy symptoms coming with the change of season, and Sabathia used to need a shot from his team’s medical staff to cope with them.
Now in retirement, the luxury of a team of doctors and staff is gone, and Sabathia needed to find the right medication to battle those symptoms, especially with golf being his latest sports passion.
Xyzal, who he is now partnered with, was the perfect remedy.
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“My allergies have been horrible my whole life. When I was a kid, I’d go to school with rolls of toilet paper,” he said, laughing. “My allergies were super, super bad. …So, the first thing I was just trying to find different stuff. I came across Xyzal and figured out you can take it at night.”
Now, Sabathia, as well as his 14-year-old son Carter, have made it part of their nightly routine to ensure they can get through baseball season without those pesky allergy symptoms.
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