Source: Blog – Alliance for American Manufacturing
The tape on a bat prior to a September 2024 game between the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Getty Images
But which sticks are they swinging?
For baseball fans, a sure sign of spring are the words “pitchers and catchers report.”
The term refers to when Major League Baseball (MLB) players begin spring training, a time-honored tradition in Florida and Arizona that precedes the season and evokes thoughts of hope and a new beginning.
Each February as teams prepare for the official start of the season, pitchers and catchers kick off spring training with workouts that begin approximately one week before the other position players arrive. Players and fans alike are filled with the anticipation of another long summer of professional baseball across America (and Toronto, too).
There is a wide variety of equipment that is part of the national pastime, including gloves, hats, and apparel.
But today we focus on baseball bats, which are to players like a well-crafted instrument is to an accomplished musician. And, like instruments, quality often depends on where the baseball bats are manufactured.
MLB players can use wooden bats that are created in countries anywhere in the world but – no surprise here – most players prefer bats that are made in America.
The three most popular bats used in ballparks across America are manufactured in the United States by major brands Louisville Slugger, Marucci and Victus.
Let’s take a closer look at them:
Louisville Slugger
This popular Kentucky brand had been the manufacturing leader in bats for major leaguers for many decades. The 19th century team of J.F. Hillerich and Frank Bradsby turned Hillerich’s Louisville woodworking shop into America’s leading manufacturer of baseball bats.
Company legend has it that Hillerich’s son J.A. “Bud” Hillerich was attending a game of the hometown Louisville Eclipse in 1884 when the team’s star player Pete Browning broke his bat. Browning was in a deep slump, so Bud Hillerich invited him to his father’s shop to handcraft a new bat to his specifications.
The first day Browning used the new bat he broke his slump with three hits. Browning told his teammates, and they soon flocked to the woodworking shop for custom bats of their own.
In 1905, Honus Wagner signed a deal with the company becoming what is thought to be the first athlete to endorse an item of sports equipment. By 1923, Hillerich and Bradsby Co. was selling more bats than any other bat manufacturer in the U.S. Among the legendary players who would eventually swing what became known as the Louisville Slugger were Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Lou Gehrig.
In 2015, Hillerich and Bradsby sold its Louisville Slugger division to Wilson Sporting Goods, but the bats continue to be American made in Louisville. The Louisville Slugger, however, is no longer the number one preference of major league players. That title has shifted to another American-made company:
Marucci Sports
Marucci bats have become the most used bat among major leaguers with approximately 40 percent of the MLB market swinging Marucci’s.
In 2002, Jack Marucci, head trainer of the LSU Tigers college baseball team, built his first baseball bat in his backyard shed after he was unable to find a suitable wooden bat for his son. And his job gave him the opportunity to connect with former LSU players who had moved up to the big leagues.
Word of mouth travels quickly among professional athletes and Marucci was soon making prototypes in his backyard for MLB players. He brought on two partners and watched the company grow rapidly to become the leading American bat maker in 2013.
Marucci maintains its own mill in Pennsylvania where its maple and birch hardwoods are cut before being sent to its factory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Each cut billet is examined for perfect grain lines before they are cut down into bats one at a time using a large lathe. They are then sanded and stamped during the finishing process.
Marucci’s meticulous attention to detail quickly propelled the brand to where by 2016 it manufactured 500 bats per day for major league ball players.
Past and present players that favor a Marucci include David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Giancarlo Stanton, Chase Utley, and Bryce Harper.
Victus
The third most popular baseball bat brand in MLB is Victus. Based in King of Prussia, Penn., Victus is regarded as one of the most creative and innovative bat companies in the world. The unique color finishes and logo designs have made the company a successful disrupter in the industry.
It is estimated that about 15% of MLB bats are manufactured by Victus. The companies eye-catching designs and colors have attracted the youngest players in MLB who like to add a bit of flair to their game.
Sensing Victus as an up-and-coming disrupter, Marucci acquired Victus in 2017, but the companies continue to manufacture as separate entities.
Among MLB players who use Victus brand bats are Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Fernando Tatis, Jr. and Bobby Witt, Jr.
Just as the “pitchers and catchers report” creed signals spring training, the next month of euphonious cracks of the wooden bat gets us all prepared for the all-American tradition of opening day. Keep an eye on the hardware the batters are using!
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