PITTSBURGH — Steven Kwan has been swinging a torpedo bat on the Guardians’ current road trip.
He went 2 for 4 Friday night with a double in a 10-7 win over the Pirates at PNC Park. The torpedo bat, which gained notoriety by the Yankees using it earlier this season, move wood toward the label of the bat to help players make more contact with the bat’s sweet spot.
MLB has ruled that the bats are legal.
Kwan, the Guardians’ leadoff hitter, started using it in Baltimore at the start of this six-game trip. He went 3 for 12 with a homer and three RBI against the Orioles.
“The jury is still out,” said Kwan after Friday’s game when asked about the torpedo bat. “I’m still gathering information on it.”
As for getting two hits Friday, Kwan said, “It’s only one game.”
Kwan is off to a hot start this season. He’s hitting .320 (24 for 75) with three homers and 11 RBI. He ranks eighth in the American League in batting average and 10th in hits.
In 2022, Kwan’s first year in the big leagues, former hitting coach Chris Valaika, suggested he use a bat with a hockey-puck style handle. It acted as a counter weight and helped his bat speed.
Friday night Kwan’s bottom hand was overlapping the bottom of the torpedo bat’s handle. Some hitters do that to increase bat speed.
Kwan entered his fourth season this year as a .285 (479 for 1,681) career hitter with a .755 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage). He made the All-Star team last year when he went into the break hitting .352 (99 for 281).
The left-handed hitter slumped after the break, but still ended the season hitting .292 (140 for 480) with a career high 14 homers. In the postseason, he hit .524 (11 for 21) against the Tigers in the ALDS and .238 (5 for 21) against the Yankees in the ALCS.
Kwan is a three-time Gold Glove winner for his play in left field. He showed why in the ninth inning Friday night when he helped cut short a Pirate rally by throwing out Bryan Reynolds at third base for the second out after fielding Emmanuel Valdez’s double off the wall.
“That play came out of nowhere,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “That was a huge, huge play for many reasons. That’s why he’s a Gold Glover.
“He’s not only unbelievably talented, but he’s smart, he’s thinking ahead, he knows where to throw the ball.”
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