Study investigates how mass distribution of baseball bat affects performance (news.wsu.edu)

So... The Torpedo Bat is basically the Placebo Bat?

Disappointing article. As another commenter mentioned, the very last sentence of the article reveals a potentially positive impact on batting average, which is extremely relevant to how well a bat works! But this seems to be ignored by the conclusion of both the researchers and the article, which focuses on hitting power.

Yeah, it's like just ignoring the actual conclusions. I mean, it's easier to hit and then it hits less hard, which is actually good because professional baseball players generally hit it out of the park when they get a good hit. So the conclusion is actually completely opposite what the title of the article is - it's not the same. It is a substantial improvement.

Very ugly bat. Poor aesthetics for baseball.

Imagine writing a whole article like this and only including one really unclear photo with a distracting background and not indicating which bat is which in the photo.

> “Wood is wood,” said Smith

Ahh, finally. A definitive answer!

I forgot all about the torpedo bat "craze", It was largely a dead story by the all star break.

Scientists spent money confirming that wood is wood.

Clicked on the story expecting underwater bat-like weapon system. Was incredibly disappointed.

> For some players who like to hit the ball closer in, the torpedo bat might be a better option for them, though, he added. And because the barrel is wider in a place where those batters do hit, they will be more likely to hit the ball more often — giving players a higher batting average.

If the only constraints are material and weight, it should be possible to create a design that performs even better for this purpose. But at some point it stops looking like a baseball bat.