With 15 home runs in their first three games, the New York Yankees are flexing their muscles. Could part of their success be due to a new bat design?

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.

But the development of the uniquely shaped piece of lumber — it looks more like a bowling pin than a traditional bat, with a thicker middle and tapered end — wasn't the result of a life spent around the game.