For the MIT-educated physicist behind the torpedo bat, it’s more about the talent of the players than their lumber at the plate.

Many of the Yankees used torpedo bats while posting historic numbers this weekend. Here's how the team started using the oddly-shaped bats and why they're legal.

For the MIT-educated physicist behind the torpedo bat, it's more about the talent of the players than their lumber at the plate. The torpedo model — a striking design in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like a bowling pin — became the talk of major league baseball over the weekend.