Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins joined the ongoing discussion this week about the use of torpedo bats that has taken the big leagues by storm after the New York Yankees’ strong outing over opening weekend.
During an appearance on OutKick’s “The Ricky Cobb Show,” Jenkins, 82, discussed how torpedo bats have become the latest innovation in the sport and could favor hitters.
“Well, when you look back at the game when I played in the ‘60s, ’70s, ’80s, the pitcher was pretty much dominant, and now we are like second-class citizens. Everything has been done for the hitter. Like, you say the clock, the bases are bigger, you have an over glove which gives you an extra 3–7 inches sliding into the bag ahead of the throw,” Jenkins said.
In addition to the rule changes that favor hitters, Jenkins said the torpedo bats are just the latest thing in baseball that will help them.
“There is more of a hitting surface for the hitter, and I think it might increase the batting average a little bit, but you will get a better piece of wood on the ball and the ball will maybe travel a little further,” he said.
“Who knows? A couple of extra base hits, and now one hitter sees one of his teammates use it. Now, he wants to use it. I can believe before the All-Star break every ball club is going to have a half-dozen hitters using that torpedo bat.”
While the overall hitting surface is not increased with the torpedo bat, the barrel of the bat is moved to a different location. The goal of shifting the barrel is to move the thickest part of the bat to where the player makes the most contact.
Jenkins said players who use the torpedo bat could see an increase in their numbers.
“I think the batting average, you might see maybe an extra 20 points on each player’s batting average. Instead of them hitting .255, .260, it might be .280,” Jenkins said.
While the bat has taken baseball by storm this season, New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton used a torpedo, including in the postseason, when he mashed seven home runs in 14 games.
Jenkins, who pitched from 1965-1983, did not have to deal with any of the new rules in his days. He pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies in his 19-year career.
Jenkins won the 1971 NL Cy Young with the Cubs and was named an All-Star three times.