The Crack of the Bat!
A look at my visit to The Hillerich & Bradsby Company (H&B) - aka Louisville Slugger
With all the discussion surrounding “torpedo bats” this week, I find it somewhat ironic that my travels this past weekend took me on a tour of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat museum and factory in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. A mere two blocks up from the Ohio River.
The entrance to the facility is easily recognizable with a Paul Bunyan worthy size baseball bat at the entrance. It is understandably a magnet for group photos and selfies. Inside the facility is a small museum dedicated to the history of the company and the many major league players who have used the efforts of Louisville Sluggers labor and expertise when standing in the batters box to face an opposing pitcher.
Visitors are treated to several exhibits including an opportunity to stand in the batters box with a used game bat and pose for photos using bats from several legends of the game including Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, Roberto Clemente, Andre Dawson and Carl Yastrzemski to name a few. I took it upon myself to select Yaz’s bat and the employee running the experience asked if I want to try another bat. When I explained it was tough because of some of the old time greats, he handed my the Babe’s bat, saying “Try this one, you’re a real fan!”.
It was a thrill to hold and pose with these bats and it brought back memories of my youth and an appreciation for the extremely heavy bat that was used by the Babe. It was an almost out of body experience for me! (I will spare the reader of the pictures of the author!)
The factory tour begins with a short video and then leads immediately to the factory floor. There is a display of billet’s, the seed if you will of all baseball bats. There was a case where these billets were pre-selected for particular MLB players from each of the 30 MLB squads. At the time of my tour, the Red Sox player selected was none other than the scorching hot Wilyer Abreu, shown below.
From this point, the tour shows the step by step process in the creation of a baseball bat, from computer guided machine precision carving and finishing work, to the lacquer coating and labeling process for each player. During this run, bats were being run for Cody Bellinger of the Yankees.
Baseball has moved on from the traditional “ash” wood to bats made from maple. These bats are stronger and more dense making them more appropriate for use against MLB pitching. Gone too are the stamped H&B logo on every bat having been replaced with a different method that maintains the bats integrity.
The machinery is one of a kind and carefully monitored and cared for. While the equipment has been around for decades, the design and modernization of eye appeal is definitely 21st century as needed by the potential buyer. The experience is like Christmas morning for any baseball fan.
The tour ends with each visitor getting a mini-bat souvenir and exits into the hallway between the museum and the gift shop. I took countless photos of the factory and the tour and I found the entire 35 minute tour experience educational and enlightening. If you are in the Louisville area, don’t miss the opportunity to take in this experience. You will not be disappointed.