You’ve been hearing all about torpedo bats of late, and with good reason. New equipment isn’t introduced to Major League Baseball often, but the torpedo bat represents a change in the design ...

Bats were heavier in those days. The style of knob varied, from a ball-shaped knob, a mushroom knob to a barely-there knob at the end of bat handles that were much thicker than the ones we see now.

NFL fans commemorate their team’s Super Bowl victories in all sorts of ways, but Mike Trout might be the first to do it on a bat knob. The South Jersey native who is often seen in his end-zone ...

In recent years, we’ve seen several changes to bat handles, including the axe handle popularized by Mookie Betts, the hockey puck knob/counterweight handle and even some players, like Mets ...

It reminded him a bit of the puck knob fad, when some players tried a counterweight at the handle of the bat in an effort to produce more bat speed.

But outside of that, bat makers -- often at the behest of players -- have some latitude to customize designs, from handle and barrel size to how the knob is designed.

At the Orioles front office’s suggestion, Adley Rutschman is using a modified version of the “torpedo” bat that the Yankees are using.

In recent years, we’ve seen several changes to bat handles, including the axe handle popularized by Mookie Betts, the hockey puck knob/counterweight handle and even some players, like Mets ...