Credit: YES
By Sean Keeley on

The New York Yankees put on a home-run clinic Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers, hitting nine dingers en route to a 20-9 victory.

The Yankees hit back-to-back-to-back homers on the first three pitches of the game and finished the first inning with four dingers. Aaron Judge slammed three home runs on the day as part of an absolutely dominant hitting performance by the defending American League champions.

It was easy to notice that Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe both stepped to the plate with unusual-looking bats that seemed to have a larger barrel and skinnier top than the usual ones you see. YES broadcaster Michael Kay took some time to explain why that is.

“The Yankee front office, the analytics department, did a study on Anthony Volpe and every single ball, it seemed like, he hit on the label,” Kay said. “He didn’t hit any on the barrel. So they had bats made up where they moved a lot of the wood into the label so the harder part of the bat will actually strike the ball.”

That’s an interesting anecdote, especially given New York’s hitting display on Saturday. However, the strange-looking bats, coupled with the team’s power-hitting performance, had some baseball fans wondering if there was some chicanery afoot.

While they look weird, there’s nothing illegal about the bats. Per MLB rules, “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.” This new and improved Yankees version still fits within those parameters.

UPDATE: Chris Kirschner of The Athletic also shared on X that the league has confirmed that the bats were fine. “Just to put this to bed, MLB says the new bats the Yankees are using are legal,” he said.

Of course, that won’t stop baseball fans from griping about the Yankees and their perceived advantages. That’s as much a baseball tradition at this point as the 7th inning stretch.

 

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Sean Keeley