For some players who like to hit the ball closer in, the torpedo bat might be a better option for them, though, he added. And because the barrel is wider in a place where those batters do hit, they will be more likely to hit the ball more often — giving players a higher batting average.

If the only constraints are material and weight, it should be possible to create a design that performs even better for this purpose. But at some point it stops looking like a baseball bat.