Nine home runs in a game isn’t the MLB record, so obviously teams have had this kind of power success without bats like the Yankees’. Still, the new design is sure to come under the scrutiny of the league.

Michael Kay explained on the YES Network broadcast that the team’s front office did a study of Anthony Volpe’s hits. They found that the ball almost always struck nearer the label than the so-called “sweet spot” of the barrel. So they added thickness closer to the label, hoping the ball would now strike the hardest part of the bat.

Obviously, the design change yielded results. New York led the league with 11 home runs during spring training. After Saturday, they lead the league with 10 home runs.

Are the Yankees new bats legal?

As far as we can tell, the only reason the Yankees have been able to use these bats two games into the season is because they are legal.

MLB rules dictate that the bat should be one piece of solid wood not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. There are no restrictions about where the thickest part of the bat should be.

Moreover, “experimental bats” are not allowed. So the Yankees will have already received permission to use these from the rules committee.

That doesn’t mean the league won’t make the bats illegal down the line. It would be easy enough to amend the rules to more strictly govern the shape of the bat. The question is whether Rob Manfred and the owners will want this design nixed.

If these bats really do produce more home runs, that will create more scoring. More scoring is generally seen as a positive from baseball fans.

This will be an interesting issue to monitor, especially if the Yankees keep smashing balls out of the park like this. Last year, they reached the 10 home run mark in their ninth game of the season. They’ve done that in two games so far.