The torpedo bat became the talk of baseball after the New York Yankees hit 15 home runs — including nine on Saturday — over three games against the Milwaukee Brewers. The bats, true to the name, feature a torpedo-like shape and are custom-made, designed to ensure the densest part of the bat is where a hitter makes the most contact.

If a torpedo bat revolution is underway in MLB, the New York Yankees might be at the forefront of it, but the Cincinnati Reds are close behind.

The secret of the Yankees' new bats—everyone's calling them "torpedo bats" and, honestly, why not?—got out during the second inning of Saturday's tilt at Yankee Stadium, when YES Network announcer Michael Kay called attention to the shape of the lumber and its intended effect: At that point,