Cincinnati Reds star shortstop Elly De La Cruz, like every baseball player and fan, has heard all about the torpedo bat. And he wanted to see for himself what all the fuss was about. So, De La Cruz, in the lead-up to the Reds' game against the Texas Rangers on Monday night,

MLB’s bat regulations are fairly lax. The “torpedo” bats are legal so long as they follow league Rule 3.02, which states: “The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.”

By now, you’ve probably heard about baseball’s greatest innovation since the curveball: MLB’s new “torpedo” bat, the reconfigured bat that moves the barrel — or the sweet spot — closer to the handle, seemingly turning even the most meager of hitters into home run machines.