Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy gave the New York Yankees a piece of his mind over their controversial torpedo bats.
Portnoy claimed the heated commentary had “nothing” to do with the New York Yankees, but rather the impact the bats could have on “hundreds of years of baseball.”
“It’s about fairness and equality,” Portnoy told host Stuart Varney on Tuesday. “Do you want to keep the game sacred?” he went on to posit.
The New York Yankees debuted their redesigned bats during the team’s season-opening series against the Milwaukee Brewers. The innovative bat design — crafted by MIT physicist Aaron Leanhardt — places the barrel closer to the player’s hands rather than toward the end of the bat, as has been standard.
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Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy weighed in on the New York Yankees’ new torpedo bats on “Varney & Co.” (Fox News / Fox News)
Yankees critics flooded the internet after the team scored nine home runs and 20 total runs against the Brewers on Saturday. Portnoy joined the onslaught of internet commenters during an appearance on “Varney & Co.”
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“These Yankee fans think it’s about the Yankees, the arrogance of these guys. They’ve won what, one World Series since the turn of the century? You know who else has done that? I got a list. The D-backs, the Marlins, the White Sox, the Royals, the Cubs, the Nationals. So what? They’re a poverty franchise like those teams. Big deal,” Portnoy argued.
The Massachusetts native and outspoken Boston sports fan went on to target two-time American League MVP Aaron Judge, one of the few players on the team who elected not to use the torpedo bat.
“Aaron Judge hits home runs in the regular season. What’s he doing in the post-season? Can’t even make contact,” Portnoy continued, not laying off the gas.
He then moved to Golden Glove-winning shortstop Anthony Volpe, claiming that he “stinks.”
“Anthony Volpe, who stinks and is a Yankee. They said they researched his swing. Guess what? They researched it, they found out he stinks. He keeps hitting the ball on the hands, and they altered the bat,” Portnoy argues.
“This has nothing to do with the Yankees, but we don’t need these Godzilla bats infiltrating the national pastime.”
Anthony Volpe of the New York Yankees in action against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium in New York City on Sunday. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Later in the show, Varney welcomed former Miami Marlins President Dave Samson to weigh in, who quickly deflated Portnoy’s comments.
“They’re [the bats] completely legal, number one. Number two, they’ve been used before. The Yankees used them last year. There are players on the Twins who have used them. And there are specific rules about the type of equipment you can use. And I am all in favor of developing ways to get better at doing the hardest thing in sports, which is hitting a ball,” Samson said Tuesday.
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Samson additionally addressed the Yankees’ blowout 20-run game against the Brewers, saying that their pitching staff “may not be that good.”
“It turns out, the Brewers’ pitching staff may not be that good because the Brewers played the Royals the next day and the Royals scored 11 runs or so. So, I think that everyone just needs to breathe,” he said.
