First, there were pitch clocks. Then, robotic umpires loomed. Now, Major League Baseball has handed its hitters something new: torpedo bats. Not literal missiles, of course, but the league’s latest bat innovation might as well be with the way it is tearing through tradition, stat sheets and pitchers’ nerves.

The new “torpedo bats,” introduced by the New York Yankees earlier this season, are designed with a rebalanced, tapered barrel that increases bat speed while maintaining pop. Essentially, the bats shift the “sweet spot” from the end of the barrel to the middle of the barrel in an effort to help players make better hard contact with the baseball.

So far, the bats have worked as intended. Home runs are up. Exit velocities are spiking. Line drives that used to die at the warning track are now souvenirs. For hitters, it is a dream. For pitchers, the bats are a nightmare wrapped in maple and composite alloy.

Baseball has always lived in the tension between pitcher and hitter. That cat-and-mouse chess match is what makes the sport beautiful. But with the introduction of these new bats, the balance feels like it is tilting dangerously toward the offense.

Remember the juiced ball era? Or the launch angle revolution? We are looking at the next evolution of the same trend. The new bats will lead to more offense, more homers, more highlights and fewer chances for the game to breathe.

Let’s be honest, MLB has been desperate to juice up offense for years. Fans love dingers. Home runs sell tickets, boost ratings and go viral on social media. After years of declining viewership and slow-paced games, the league is swinging hard at anything that makes baseball pop. These torpedo bats are the newest shiny tool in that push.

If torpedo bats are here to stay, MLB would be wise to think about future regulations. How many more modifications to the bat would they allow before the offensive environment becomes unfair? Just a few years ago, the MLB found out about the sticky substances pitchers were using to gain an edge against the competition. They promptly banned it, and began implementing glove checks after each inning. Could similar regulations be coming to bats if results continue to look lopsided towards the offense?

Right now, it is early. The bats are flashy, the results are loud and the novelty is fun. But it is fair to wonder how long the league will let this go on for. On the one hand, they level the playing field for players who struggle finding the sweet spot of the bat. On the other hand, shouldn’t those players have to learn to improve on their own instead of being handed a magical bat that can fix their swing issues?

The bats likely are not going anywhere, at least for the short term. However, future regulation might be necessary to protect the integrity of America’s pastime before tweaks like these get out of hand.