Baseball isn’t just a game. It’s the smell of popcorn drifting in the air, the sight of bugs buzzing near the stadium lights, the roughness of the dirt beneath your cleats. It’s the anticipation building in your chest as the anthem plays, the adrenaline rush when your bat cracks against the ball, and the surge of blood when the umpire shouts strike after you pitch. It’s a team full of guys backing your every move, a bleacher full of people cheering you on. It’s…life ~ Dare You To
I have loved attending baseball games much longer than I have understood the game. When my brother was on a Little League team, I played under the stands during his games. If I got lucky, Mother would buy me a popsicle. No, I wasn’t even attempting to follow baseball at that point. However, by the time I lived in St. Louis, decades later, I knew enough to recognize the amazing talent exhibited by Willie McGee, Ozzie Smith, and Tom Pagnozzi. I never paid attention to their bats, though. To be fair, I didn’t particularly notice anyone’s bats–not until I visited the factory where they make millions of bats, Louisville Slugger. All commentary is taken from the factory tour script unless otherwise noted.
Were they great right off the bat?
No, they weren’t even making bats in the beginning. In 1856, Bud Hillerich started his manufacturing operation by making home goods, such as bed posts and butter churns. Twenty years later, professional baseball teams geared up, and that was a game-changer. Switching to bat manufacturing proved to be a good fit, from production to profits. Think about it. Lathes make bedposts, and they also make butter churn dashers (also called paddles). Louisville Slugger was the first manufacturer to mass-produce bats, and its founder was as intentional about his materials as he was about production.
Hillerich selected wood from forests in the Northeast, specifically in Pennsylvania and New York. He made that informed decision based on the types of wood species that produce the best material for bats, as well as the area where those species grew. The latter was–and is–based on climate and terrain.
Wood species and qualities that impact batting
- Ash – used very early on. It’s flexible and provides a satisfying batting experience. Unfortunately, it may begin to flake with repeated use.
- Maple – introduced early in this century. It handles impact better than ash, since it’s harder, but this means it’s more brittle. It’s prone to breaking.
- Birch – Most recent wood selection (2012). It has the flexibility of ash and the durability of maple. Birch bats get harder with repeated use.
A few shots inside the Louisville Slugger Museum
Branding
I’ve already mentioned my previous lack of interest in batters’ tools. The museum visit piqued my interest in a big way. One tidbit that qualifies as a “who knew” item was when I learned that logo placement signals the optimal grip to boost the bat’s longevity. Here’s how it works:
The logos for professional bats are water decals (or waterslides), and employees apply them by hand, one at a time. The wood grain dictates positioning. For ash, the logo goes on the deep-V grain line, the weakest part of an ash bat. For maple and birch, the logo goes on the straight grain lines. Batters know to grip the bat with the logo on top. This prevents the ball from colliding with the bat at the weakest point.
Louisville Slugger by the Numbers
- Bud Hillerich was only 17 when he made his first bat.
- The current manufacturing operation is within 7 miles of other locations that previously produced Louisville Sluggers.
- Over 200 million bats have been produced.
- In 1905, Honus “The Flying Dutchman” Wagner became the first player to endorse a bat. (Slugger Museum)
- In 1911, Frank Bradsby joined Bud Hillerich to provide marketing expertise. (Slugger Museum)
- H&B has created 5,000 different bat models. (Professional players are very selective about lengths, weights, knobs, and barrels, to name a few design specifications.)
- Hempel tracer lathes can turn a bat in 48 seconds. (See more about production in the video below.)
- Most Major League players order about 100 bats per season.
- One farmer’s turkeys rest easy due to the 32,000 pounds of sawdust picked up every week for their bedding.
That’s probably all the numbers you need. I’ll just add that batters of all ages are swinging Louisville Slugger bats, from Little League to MLB. The production process for professional bats is different, though. The finish isn’t the same; the level of customization isn’t the same, and the type of wood changes according to the player’s preference. Some players visit the factory to select their own billets. And, naturally, the sizes are different. But wait. There’s more.
No, really.
We haven’t even touched on the lacquer-dipping, the variety of color options, or the fact that some bats are hand-buffed with the same compound that gives pianos and guitars a high gloss. And then there’s the propane torch treatment that makes me think of toasted marshmallows. And even all that doesn’t cover everything.
Will knowledge about Louisville Sluggers change my life? Probably not, but sometimes you don’t know whether a topic will connect with you until someone pitches it. Who knows? You might decide to jump into the deep end and learn about General Liability insurance. Unlikely? Perhaps, but if it does happen, don’t worry. I’ve got you.
When the parents bought the property on Mitchell for our eventual home, they bought 3 acres, enough for 6 nice lots. They sold lots to the Londons and Rolands but left the lot in between vacant for a long time which became the neighborhood baseball diamond. The neighborhood “Little Rascals” lost many a ball and broke many a bat on that lot. If you were not watching and hit the ball against the grain vs. with the grain, the bat will break. Bats were expensive by our economic standards of the time and we probably went through 4 or 5 a year. Likely due to that experience, I did pretty well in Little League though I was small. I did not hit home runs but always got a base hit. My favorite position was catcher. I did not play school sports because I was much more interested in making money bagging groceries. I am still more interested in making money than baseball.
I don’t remember the Mitchell St boys playing ball on any empty lot, which tells you how often I left our yard. 😉