ＭＬＢで「魚雷バット」が波紋、開幕から本塁打急増

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米大リーグ（ＭＬＢ）で、開幕からホームランを急増させている新型の「魚雷バット」が波紋を広げている。（写真は「魚雷バット」を手にするニューヨーク・ヤンキースのポール・ゴールドシュミット）
　ニューヨーク・ヤンキースは、ミルウォーキー・ブルワーズとの開幕３試合でＭＬＢ記録に並ぶ１５本のホームランを放ったが、これには新しいバットの影響もある。
　魚雷バットは、芯が打者の手元に近づき、ボールと接触しやすい手元から約１５センチ付近に質量が集中しており、インパクトの瞬間の威力が出やすくなっている。このバットはＭＬＢの規則に準拠している。
　ヤンキースでは、アンソニー・ボルピー、ジャズ・チザム・ジュニア、コディ・ベリンジャー、ポール・ゴールドシュミット、オースティン・ウェルズが魚雷バットで本塁打９本を打った。
　他には従来のバットでスター選手のアーロン・ジャッジが４本、ベン・ライスとオズワルド・ペラザがそれぞれ１本を放った。ジャッジは「キャリアを重ねる中でうまくいかないことが出てきたら、使い始めるかもしれない。でも、今のところはこのままでいい」と話している。
　３月２９日の試合では先頭打者からの３者連続初球本塁打を含む９本、３０日には４本が飛び出した。
　ベリンジャーは「最初はみんな形を見て、『これは何だ』という感じだった。すごくユニークだ。うまくいってるし、進化しているかもしれない」「自分にとっては、重さの配分がいい。重心が手元に近くて、軽く感じる。自分としては、そこが最大の利点だ」と話した。
　この特殊なバットを開発したのは、元マサチューセッツ工科大学の物理学者アーロン・リーンハート氏（４８）。２０２２年と２０２３年にヤンキースのマイナーチームの打撃コーディネーター、昨年はヤンキースの打撃アナリストを務めた後、今年はマイアミ・マーリンズのフィールドコーディネーターに就任している。
　リーンハート氏は開発のきっかけについて、バットは先端が最も太いにもかかわらず、ボールを打つのがその部分ではないと気づいたからだったと話している。
　「ひらめいたのは、選手がボールとコンタクトする部分を指さし、そこがバットの最も太い部分ではないことに気づいたときだ」
　「それで、じゃあ逆にしてみよう、見た目はおかしいけど、試してみる選手はいるかと聞いた。そうしたら、試してみたい選手がいた。だからそれがきっかけだ」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/04/03-16:55）

New torpedo baseball bats are making waves across America's national pastime, triggering an explosion of home runs in the first full week of the Major League Baseball season.
The New York Yankees blasted an MLB record-tying 15 home runs in their first three games of the season, in part due to the new bats, which have shifted the sweet spot of the barrel closer to the hitter's hands.
The groundbreaking, customized new design has given extra home run power to batters -- and added a new challenge for top MLB pitchers.
There's more wood mass concentrated in the area where bats are most likely to make contact with pitched balls -- six inches or so closer to the batter's hands -- but the bats conform to MLB rules. They just have more punch at the impact point compared to more traditional bats.
The concept makes so much sense. I know I'm bought in, Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe told the MLB's website. The bigger you can have the barrel where you hit the ball, it makes sense to me.
Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells combined to smash nine of the New York's impressive 15 homers with torpedo bats while star slugger Aaron Judge hit four and Ben Rice and Oswaldo Peraza each added one with traditional bats.
As my career goes on, maybe I could start adding some of those in if I start losing something, Judge said. But I think we're good where we?re at right now.
Nine homers against Milwaukee on Saturday -- including three consecutive home runs off the first three pitches of the game -- were followed by four on Sunday.
We were all kind of looking at this bat, and we were like, 'Hmm, what is this thing?' Bellinger said. It's so unique. I think there has been some more success with it and maybe some more advancements.
The benefit for me is I like the weight distribution, Bellinger said. The weight is closer to my hands so I feel as if it's lighter in a way. For me, that was the biggest benefit.
Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz hit two homers Monday with a torpedo bat in a 14-3 rout of Texas after testing it for the first time in pre-game batting practice.
I just wanted to know if it feels good, he said. It definitely does.
The specialized bats were created by 48-year-old Aaron Leanhardt, a former MIT physicist who served as a Yankees minor league hitting coordinator in 2022 and 2023 and a Yankees batting analyst last year before moving into a role as field coordinator this year for the Miami Marlins.
I think Lenny was working really hard at it, Volpe said of Leanhardt. Every time I'm on base, guys are asking about it.
Leanhardt said his tinkering with bat styles began when players noticed the top of the bat was fattest but that wasn't where on the bat they were trying to hit the ball.
The eureka moment, really, was when players pointed to where they were trying to hit the ball, and they noticed themselves that that was not the fattest part of the bat, said Leanhardt.
Everyone just looked at each other like, 'Well, let's flip it around. It's going to look silly, but are we willing to go with it?' You found guys that were willing to go with it. So I would say that was really the moment.
Leanhardt credited a feedback loop of informed tinkering to get where the unique bats are at today.
There are many different makes and models that have gone through this process, some of which never saw the field of play and some of which are, obviously, hitting a lot of home runs right now, Leanhardt said.
- 'Send a few over' -
San Diego's Manny Machado would take one.
I have no idea what they are, he said. They should send a few over here if they?re going to be hitting homers like that.
San Diego's Xander Bogaerts added, I thought it was a joke at first... I thought they edited the picture, because I've never seen anything like that.
Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable says, I think that everyone across the league probably now is going to be looking into using these.
But Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he does not see the bats making a drastic change, comparing the bats to golfers selecting a club.
We're trying to be better in every possible way, Boone said. It's all within major league standards.
Those things aren't new. There's just more people pouring into trying to optimize guys as best we can.
Volpe is seeking just such a boost.
It's probably just a placebo, he said. A lot of it is just looking up at your bat and seeing how big the barrel is, but it's exciting. I think any 0.01% mentally that it gives you confidence, it helps.