Max Muncy Ditches Torpedo Bat for Monster Hit

Max Muncy ditched the torpedo bat just in time to save the day for the Dodgers on Wednesday night.

The Los Angeles third baseman had been experimenting with baseball’s newest gadget – the oddly shaped torpedo bat – for his first three at-bats against the Atlanta Braves. It wasn’t going well.

Muncy went 0 for 3 with a strikeout using the funky new lumber. He also committed two errors in the field as the Dodgers fell behind 5-0.

But when he stepped to the plate in the eighth inning with the potential tying runs on base, Muncy made a crucial decision. He left the torpedo bat behind.

Smart move.

Using his regular bat instead, Muncy ripped a game-tying double off Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias that completely changed the momentum of the game.

That clutch hit set the stage for Shohei Ohtani’s walk-off homer in the ninth inning, giving the Dodgers a dramatic 6-5 comeback victory.

After the game, Muncy wasn’t ready to completely abandon his torpedo experiment. “I do think there was some good to using the torpedo bat, just in BP and everything,” he told reporters. “It might be something that I use as a practice bat and then go back to my bat for the game. It seemed to work that last at-bat.”

The torpedo bat has become baseball’s hottest trend in recent days.

It’s the creation of Aaron Leanhardt, a former Yankees front-office innovator who now coaches with the Miami Marlins. The unusual design distributes the bat’s weight differently than traditional models, placing mass where players make contact most often.

The goal? Help hitters barrel up the ball more consistently and miss less often.

Whether Muncy sticks with his regular bat or gives the torpedo another chance, the Dodgers keep rolling. They’re now 8-0 to start the season – the best beginning ever for a defending World Series champion.