Ride on Bernie Brewer’s slide at American Family Field in Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel photojournalist Mike De Sisti takes you along with his ride down Bernie’s slide at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
The New York Yankees love the home run ball. They’re called the Bronx Bombers for a reason.
And they might have the answer to hitting even more: redesigned bats.
The Milwaukee Brewers are getting an up close look at the home run-heavy Yankees and their powerful bats in the first series of the season. Aaron Boone’s team set a franchise-record nine home runs against the Brewers en route to a 20-9 shellacking on Saturday.
The Yankees have now smashed 11 home runs in their first two game over the Brewers, both victories.
New York is a home-run hitting team – they have the reigning home run champ in Aaron Judge and led all of baseball in long balls last year.
But if the first two games are any indication, the Yankees will shatter all home run marks in 2025. Is their explanation for it? Could it be the redesigned bats that at least two of the players are using?
Yankees bats explained
During Saturday’s game, Michael Kay, the TV play-by-play broadcaster for the Yankees on the YES Network, made a mention that the team’s analytics department did a study where it found that shortstop Anthony Volpe wasn’t making contact on the barrel of the bat.
The team, as a result, made a significant change and one that was visible when cameras showed his new bat on Saturday.
The team moved more wood of the bat into the label area, making it thicker in that spot and thinner on top.
“So the harder part of the bat is going to strike the ball,” Kay said.
The change appears to have worked quite well for Volpe. He has two home runs in his first two games. He hit one of two first-inning home runs on Thursday in the 4-2 win and then had a three-run home run in the second inning of Saturday’s game that pushed the Yankees’ lead to 7-3.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is also using this new bat. And it’s made a difference early on, too. He hit a solo home run in the third inning to give New York a 13-3 lead.
Yankees bats comparison
Here’s a side by side comparison of a typical bat vs. the Yankees’ redesigned bat.
Are the Yankees bats legal?
What does the MLB rule book say about bats?
According to the MLB rule book, “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.”
The Yankees clearly got clearance from MLB before using them. Now the question is whether other teams will follow suit and implement them and if more Yankees will starting batting with them.
If they do, pitchers beware.
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