Explosive 'Torpedo Bats' Taking Over MLB Are Made In King Of Prussia

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — On a sunny day in the Bronx last week, New York Yankees leadoff hitter Paul Goldschmidt hit the very first pitch of the game straight over the center field fence into Monument Park.

On the second pitch of the game, Cody Bellinger ripped a shot over the wall into the same park. And on the third pitch of the game, Aaron Judge hit it over the left field wall. The Yankees ended the day with an absurd 20 runs and nine home runs.

Never in the 149 year history of Major League Baseball have the first three pitches of a game been hit out of the park. And the unique instrument of destruction for most of those homers was made right here in King of Prussia.

The Yankees were using what they're now calling "torpedo bats," specially designed and fully legal bats have a distinctive tapered design. Each bat is customized to the individual player, so that the barrel of the bat is made thickest around the spot where the player typically hits the most pitches.

Victus Bats, a major bat manufacturer in King of Prussia, produces the bats just off First Avenue, on Clark Street.

“Any time you have that kind of success with a new product that looks kind of funky and has a cool name — I mean, it’s baseball season and it’s hot right now,” Victus CEO Jared Smith told The Athletic. “For us, I definitely think there’s something to it. As far as how big it got, nine home runs in one game certainly changed that a little bit."

Victus, which is the leading bat manufacturer for all of MLB, makes about 30 percent of the bats used by big leaguers. The Yankees were on the forefront as the shape was designed by a former analyst with the team, Aaron Leanhardt. But now that the bat is out on the market and fully approved by the league Commissioner's office, players on all teams are getting on board.

Indeed, the Phillies Alec Bohm used a torpedo bat on opening day, using it to smack a bullet of a game-winning double into the gap in left-center in the top of the tenth inning. Other players are looking into getting them, but the process to be "fitted" for one is lengthy: Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott told reporters he was asked to take about a thousand swings in a cage to determine where the bulk of his barrel should be placed. And the torpedo design only really works if a hitter hits the majority of his pitches in the same area — which is not always the case.

Not everyone is a fan of the bats, as some pitchers have pointed to it as evidence of the league unfairly prioritizing hitting over pitching.

"Let them use whatever bat they want," Phillies All Star reliever Matt Strahm wrote on X. "Let’s just allow pitchers to use whatever hitters have in the on deck circle. And not check us like we are criminals every time we walk on or off the field. I’m just a pitcher but I’m assuming better grip helps ya swing harder…"

Of course it is difficult to tell the full impact of the bats just yet, as the season is not even a week old, and the early offensive outputs have come in a very small sample size. Still, Victus is positioned on the forefront of the latest technological development in the game, and is likely to be making bats in King of Prussia for the big moments on the world stage regardless.