Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins joined the ongoing discussion this week about the use of torpedo bats that has taken the big leagues by storm after the New York Yankees' strong outing over opening weekend.
During an appearance on OutKick’s "The Ricky Cobb Show," Jenkins, 82, discussed how torpedo bats have become the latest innovation in the sport and could favor hitters.
"Well, when you look back at the game when I played in the ‘60s, ’70s, '80s, the pitcher was pretty much dominant, and now we are like second-class citizens. Everything has been done for the hitter. Like, you say the clock, the bases are bigger, you have an over glove which gives you an extra 3–7 inches sliding into the bag ahead of the throw," Jenkins said.
In addition to the rule changes that favor hitters, Jenkins said the torpedo bats are just the latest thing in baseball that will help them.
"There is more of a hitting surface for the hitter, and I think it might increase the batting average a little bit, but you will get a better piece of wood on the ball and the ball will maybe travel a little further," he said.
"Who knows? A couple of extra base hits, and now one hitter sees one of his teammates use it. Now, he wants to use it. I can believe before the All-Star break every ball club is going to have a half-dozen hitters using that torpedo bat."
While the overall hitting surface is not increased with the torpedo bat, the barrel of the bat is moved to a different location. The goal of shifting the barrel is to move the thickest part of the bat to where the player makes the most contact.
Jenkins said players who use the torpedo bat could see an increase in their numbers.
"I think the batting average, you might see maybe an extra 20 points on each player’s batting average. Instead of them hitting .255, .260, it might be .280," Jenkins said.
While the bat has taken baseball by storm this season, New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton used a torpedo, including in the postseason, when he mashed seven home runs in 14 games.
Jenkins, who pitched from 1965-1983, did not have to deal with any of the new rules in his days. He pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies in his 19-year career.
Jenkins won the 1971 NL Cy Young with the Cubs and was named an All-Star three times.
The Dodgers ran themselves out of a shot at keeping their undefeated season alive in a 3-2 loss to the Phillies on Friday that stuck them at 8-1 on the season.
It’s almost time for the Grand National and there are a range of welcome offers that new customers can use to bet on the most prestigious race on the horse racing calendar.
In a tournament normally filled with upsets and Cinderellas, the bracket has gone chalk in many cases.
For just the second time since 2007, and the sixth time ever, no 13, 14, 15 or 16 seed posted an upset. And for the second time in tournament history, the Final Four features all No. 1 seeds.
Due to the lack of upsets, Johnny Avello, an oddsmaker at DraftKings, said the bettor has done will this year due to a popular trend.
"There were a lot of moneyline parlays. So the bettors have had a very good run," Avello said.
Another trend in recent years has been betting on every upset in the first round. Despite a low win-loss record, the return on investment would be high, thanks to teams like UMBC, Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Peter's.
But that trend did not pan out this year. The lowest seed to win a game was a No. 12 seed, and the spread favored 12th-seeded Colorado State against No. 5 Memphis.
"The favorites won 12 out of the 16 games straight up on Thursday and went 9-7 against the number. They were 13-3 on Friday straight up and 10-6 against the number. We did not see the trend that usually happens," said Avello.
Duke is now even money to win the title, and bettors have jumped all in on the Blue Devils, Avello added.
"They've been the team that's been bet all year long," he said, adding Duke would be, at minimum, a 4.5-point favorite no matter who it might face in the final. Duke is -5.5 against Houston.
Duke will take on Houston after the Florida-Auburn matchup Saturday. The first game tips off at 6:09 p.m. ET in San Antonio.
The Indiana Fever made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2016 in large part because of superstar rookie Caitlin Clark. This offseason, a new head coach and the addition of several key players have increased the odds of success in Indiana.
Sophie Cunningham, one of those additions, believes the Fever are prime for a run at the WNBA championship.
The 28-year-old guard was acquired by the Fever from the Phoenix Suns in February as part of a four-team trade that included the additions of Jaelyn Brown from the Dallas Wings and the No. 19 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
"I'm excited. I think this is a new era for myself," Cunningham told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "I got to learn a lot, learn how to become a pro. And now I get to go to Indiana to play with some of the best players around the world right now."
On the list is new teammate Caitlin Clark, who took her pro career by storm.
"We've talked quite a bit in the past couple of months since I've gotten traded and she's just a good human," Cunningham said of Clark. "I think she has humor to her, she has wit to her. Everyone that I've talked to said that she's a great teammate. She just wants to win, right?"
Cunningham told Fox News Digital that she believes Indiana’s "style of play" is something she thrives in. She said she believes that if the chemistry on the court is there, this team stands a good chance at winning a championship.
"I'm just excited for [Clark’s] competitiveness. I'm excited for everything she brings to the table. But again, I'm excited for everyone, right? You have Kelsey Mitchell, who's been a vet, too, who has been there for years, who is a heck of a player as well. And so for me, just to kind of be a part of something for the first time – a new team for the first time in six years – I just think it's a fresh wind. It's what I needed. It's re-motivated, it's refocused my energy. And again, like at the end of the day, I just want to win. I want championships and I think this is the right team for it."
Cunningham, 28, was drafted by Phoenix in the second round of the 2019 WNBA Draft and has become one of the league’s most popular players. She’s appeared in 182 games, averaging 7.7 points per game, 2.7 total rebounds and 1.4 assists.
Her best season was in 2022, when she averaged 12.6 points per game, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
Cunningham spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of her partnership with Quest Nutrition during the women’s NCAA Tournament. The former University of Missouri star, who made second round appearances in each of her four seasons with the Tigers, praised the newfound attention the women’s tournament has received over the years.
"It's huge. And I think, you know, the talent and the feistiness, the competitiveness has always been there. Now it's just on TV where people are able to witness it and fall in love with our game and fall in love with the players," she said. "I was a part of the NCAA tournament for four years. Now I get to be a fan behind a bar supporting it with Quest."
Over the weekend, Cunningham hosted a watch party with fans in New York on behalf of Quest Nutrition.
"I really am excited. I just think their products are getting bigger, they're getting better – still high protein, low sugar – and so as an elite level athlete that's exactly what you want," she said of her partnership. "You still want to eat healthy but you also, for me, I have a sweet tooth and so why would I not want to indulge a little bit on a tasty treat because that's something that will always kind of stick with me so I'd much rather eat something that's good for me than you know something bad."
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