Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred recently addressed the advent and rising popularity of the so-called "torpedo bat," a bowling-pin shaped bat the popularity of which has coincided with a very modest spike in the league home-run rate relative to last season.

Everyone's buzzing about how they'll perform with a torpedo bat, but those who've tried it aren't entirely convinced.

Developed by a physicist, these bats have their widest part, called the barrel, closer to the player's hands to offer a better chance of hitting the ball on their "sweet spot"