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MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

(thelibertyline.com)
302 points cf100clunk | 5 comments | 31 Mar 25 15:27 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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kaycebasques ◴[31 Mar 25 16:03 UTC] No.43536546[source]▶
If only the Yankees get access to it (e.g. they patented it and won't let other teams use it) then I could see it as an unfair advantage. In most other areas of America life, though, this innovation would be allowed or even celebrated.

I imagine it will go the way of the brilliant strategic innovation a few years back of shifting defenders heavily depending on the batter's statistical hitting patterns. It'll get banned because it makes the game more boring. If home runs happen all the time, they lose their excitement. I imagine it's quite expensive or impossible to shift the outfield walls back farther in most MLB stadiums.

I actually would love more of a no holds barred evolutionary battle in the MLB [1] but I know it's not gonna happen.

[1] https://youtu.be/gTmLz9B8wls

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SkyPuncher ◴[31 Mar 25 17:12 UTC] No.43537319[source]▶
If only the Yankees get access to this, the rest of the league will simply vote to outlaw it.

You see something similar going on in football, right now, with a play known as the "tush push". It's not a particularly complex play, but for some reason the Philadelphia Eagles can pull it off astoundingly better than anyone else in the league. In response, several teams are petitioning rules to outlaw it. All it takes is enough teams to vote for banning this play and it's gone.

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1. m3kw9 ◴[31 Mar 25 17:23 UTC] No.43537444[source]▶
The have the rule where the team defending the field goal is not allowed to act like a “locomotive” to push thru and try to block the kick, which would almost certainly work because the edge blockers cannot just defend come inside to defend it.

The tush push shouldn’t be allowed because is almost impossible to defend, sort of an automatic 1 yarder once you get there. The snapping team always have advantage because they know the start timing and the defense always has to react a split second later.

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2. paleotrope ◴[31 Mar 25 18:00 UTC] No.43537828[source]▶
In both cases why not?

1. Make the kicker kick from farther out in that case. Pretty simple change.

2. 1 yard is kind of nothing in this league now when the referees have so much leeway to change yardage. They get the spot wrong ALL the damn time now. So what if it's automatic for some teams. And so what if the offense has the advantage there. That's sport. Same thing in soccer on penalty kicks, the kicker has the advantage there knowing where he's going to kick.

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3. sbelskie ◴[31 Mar 25 19:10 UTC] No.43538604[source]▶
Is almost impossible to defend when done by a particular team. No other team has managed the kind of sustained success with it that the Eagles have. If it was impossible to defend surely other teams would be using it too.

Tom Brady also had similar success with the standard old QB sneak during his career and I don't recall attempts to ban that.

4. graywh ◴[31 Mar 25 19:32 UTC] No.43538875[source]▶
the rule for FG/XP attempts is for the safety of the long snapper, not the kicker
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5. paleotrope ◴[31 Mar 25 20:02 UTC] No.43539234{3}[source]▶
Right, but if the kicker needs to move further back in response, the tactic doesn't work anymore so the snapper is safe as well.