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The creator of the torpedo bat, Aaron Leanhardt, recently offered an interview with the media to discuss his creation, which has taken Major League Baseball by storm at the start of the 2025 season. Leanhardt credited the players who offered their input and inspired him to come up with the revolutionary bat model.
Aaron Leanhardt is a physics graduate from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology and spent seven years as a professor at the University of Michigan. He is currently a field coordinator for the Miami Marlins. Previously, Leanhardt was working as an analyst for the New York Yankees and had come up with the design for the torpedo while working with the players at the organization.
On Monday evening, Aaron Leanhardt was approached by the media at LoanDepot Park before the Miami Marlins hosted the series opener with the New York Mets. He spoke about the inspiration behind the idea for creating the torpedo bat.
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"The eureka moment was really when players pointed to where they were trying to hit the ball, and they noticed it themselves that it was not the fattest part of the bat," Leanhardt said.
"They noticed it themselves that the tip was the fattest part of the bat," he continued. "And everyone looks at each other and is like, "Let's flip it around. It looks silly, but we're willing to go with it." At the end of the day, we found guys that were willing to go with. So, I'd say that was the moment."
"Really, it's credit to the players that had the conversations with me two years ago and were willing to be Patient Zero and to demo the first versions of this as early as 2023, during that offseason, and in 2024," Leinhardt added. "It's really been those guys that have helped develop that more than anything. So credit to those guys."
The New York Yankees set a franchise record by smashing nine home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers in their second game of the 2025 season, with the majority of them coming from players wielding torpedo bats.
"It's definitely been surreal the past couple of days": Aaron Leanhardt on becoming famous after the success of the torpedo bat
Aaron Leanhardt has become an overnight celebrity among MLB fans with the torpedo bats making a massive impact on the game. He reflected upon his newfound fame during his interview with the media.
"There are a lot more cameras here today than I'm used to. I'm used to working behind all this," he laughed. "It's definitely been surreal the past couple of days."
"A lot of text messages from a lot of old colleagues," he added. "They're really excited about it. I think they're mesmerized about how the world of data analytics, physics, mathematics, etc. can have such a positive impact on the game of baseball and generate a lot of excitement. So, it's been a lot of fun for all the guys that have supported me to get here."
Leanhardt feels the impact of the torpedo bats has only just started, and it may take a couple more years to refine the design to make it more effective. He said that many players are trying out the torpedo bats behind the scenes but may not take it to the field until they are completely comfortable using it.
