"They're absolutely good for baseball," he said to the New York Times ' Michael S. Schmidt. "I believe that issues like the torpedo bat and the debate around it demonstrate the fact that baseball still occupies a unique place in our culture, because people get into a complete frenzy over something that’s really nothing at the end of the day.

Torpedo bats are all the rage this season, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred believes all that chatter is good for the game.

While other types of modified bats, such as corked bats, are strictly forbidden in the major leagues, MLB has already confirmed that torpedo bats are legal and allowed; the league itself has even released news articles highlighting them. This could pave the way for a new era of baseball, one in which home-run hitters take precedence.