The “torpedo bat” may be more than a quirky new piece of gear. It might be the gateway to a new era in baseball.

Of note is how D-backs pitchers handled the five Yankees who are known to be using the torpedo bat: Anthony Volpe and Paul Goldschmidt, who bat righty, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger and Austin Wells, who bat lefty.

I’m just playing baseball.” That the Yankees had a historically great game, and that some players were using funny-looking bats, “is more coincidence than destiny or science,” Smith told me. After all,