Phillies Reliever Matt Strahm: If Hitters Get Torpedo Bats, Then Pitchers Should Get Pine Tar

There's been a lot of talk about these "torpedo" bats since the New York Yankees debuted them last week. Will they ruin baseball by giving hitters an unfair advantage? Maybe. But Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Matt Strahm has proposed a compromise.

A Yankees in-house physicist had the idea to thicken the barrel of the bat where it most often hits the ball, and the result (so far) has been a lot of homers and a lot of arguing about whether the bats should actually be considered cheating.

READ: Have The Torpedo Bats Made A Difference?

Strahm hopped on social media earlier this week with his own take.

"Let them use whatever bat they want," he wrote on X. "Let’s just allow pitchers to use whatever hitters have in the on deck circle. And not check us like we are criminals every time we walk on or off the field. I’m just a pitcher but I’m assuming better grip helps ya swing harder…"

MLB famously cracked down on pitchers' use of sticky stuff in 2021 and has continued to do its best to prevent workarounds to its ban. Umpires check pitchers before they enter games and between innings for substances that could give them an unfair advantage.

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But Strahm made clear he doesn't want the super-sticky stuff back.

"…some of that stuff was a bit much," he clarified in a reply to a fan. "Just whatever a hitter can use to grip a bat better we can use too."

So pine tar. He's talking about pine tar, which MLB hitters regularly apply in the on-deck circle to enhance their grip on the bat — especially in wet or sweaty conditions — and to improve bat control.

It seems like a fair compromise to me. But don't expect it to actually happen. This "torpedo bat" controversy isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Strahm is in his 10th MLB season and third with the Phillies. He's coming off a career year last season, in which he earned his first All-Star selection while posting a 1.87 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings across 66 appearances.