11 comments

  • Mathnerd314 2 hours ago
    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.
    • bombcar 2 hours ago
      The moment I saw “slight difference in location of sweet spot” I knew the bat would have tremendous real-world impact even if the robots couldn’t hit any better.
    • sam1r 1 hour ago
      Modern 2026 click bait:

      1. Provide “distinct” proof 2. Title it as the antithesis

    • devindotcom 1 hour ago
      i'm sorry but where are you seeing this completely opposite and substantial improvement?

      >The team found nearly identical performance for the torpedo and standard bats except that the sweet spot for the torpedo bat was a half inch farther from the bat tip than the standard bat.

      >“It was actually pretty phenomenal how close they were,” said Smith.

      >For some players who like to hit the ball closer in, the torpedo bat might be a better option for them

      some players with some batting characteristics may find this better? is that what you are referring to? What part of the article disputes this at all, let alone concludes the opposite? Is it the researcher's own quote? I really don't understand your objection here. It seems to be based on your own intuition about how players "generally" hit balls. But the researchers themselves have presented their own data and conclusions pretty clearly here.

  • wnevets 1 hour ago
    I forgot all about the torpedo bat "craze", It was largely a dead story by the all star break.
  • excalibur 49 minutes ago
    > 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.

  • jeffbee 1 hour ago
    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.
  • restlessforge 5 days ago
    So... The Torpedo Bat is basically the Placebo Bat?
    • bryanlarsen 2 hours ago
      The end of the article notes several very real changes in behavior, including being more likely to get a hit, which is significant.

      And it compares equal weight bats. If the torpedo bat allows you to use a lighter bat, that will increase your swing speed.

      • postflopclarity 2 hours ago
        they compared equal _swing_ weight bats. so actually in their experiment the torpedo bat was heavier.
  • orthecreedence 1 hour ago
    > “Wood is wood,” said Smith

    Ahh, finally. A definitive answer!

  • nsxwolf 1 hour ago
    Very ugly bat. Poor aesthetics for baseball.
  • talkfold 1 hour ago
    Scientists spent money confirming that wood is wood.
  • kaonwarb 2 hours ago
    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.
    • sam1r 2 hours ago
      This is just the most oxymoronic article. It’s like it knew we would all be like… wait.
    • devindotcom 1 hour ago
      the last sentence is part of a paragraph specifying it "might" be better for "some players who like to hit the ball closer in"

      not really ignored when it's in the article. the researchers themselves are quoted saying the results are incredibly close.

  • lawrenceduk 53 minutes ago
    Clicked on the story expecting underwater bat-like weapon system. Was incredibly disappointed.