There’s a lot that’s new in the fresh iteration of the Louisville Slugger Prime line to get the bats 30% harder and allow the 140-year-old brand to more than double the warranty from 30 days to an industry-leading 75 days. It all starts with a trip back into company history. 

Bobby Hillerich, a fifth-generation bat maker and vice president of manufacturing and product development, is a great-grandson of Bud Hillerich, who created the first-ever Slugger bat for professional Louisville Eclipse player Pete Browning in his father’s woodworking shop. Bobby Hillerich was researching published studies on wood surface hardening techniques when he saw a Penn State University study reference a 1902 patent from his great-grandfather regarding hickory wood spun on a lathe. 

“There is a combination of pressure and heat that is getting us the surface tension that we want,” Bobby Hillerich tells Baseball America. “We’ve updated it with new techniques and pressures.” 

The entire Louisville Slugger manufacturing process received an update. For the new Prime line, made with both maple and birch, the hardening is more than just the pressure and heat. It also comes from optimizing the brand’s vacuum drying system. Previously, wood could sit up to three weeks before going from green to vacuum driers at the Pennsylvania factory, but the cells started hardening while air drying, not allowing the vacuum to compress them. Louisville Slugger now vacuum dries the wood the same week they are processed from the log, all while keeping them stored at 70 degrees to increase stability. 

Once the billets get shipped to Louisville and turned and shaped into a bat, they receive a completely new finish. In search for a finish that wouldn’t take four days to cure, Bobby Hillerich and his team flew to San Diego to check out a process Taylor Guitar was using on their instruments. “We sprayed it on a bat and went and hit it on a steel post,” he says about the visit. “It was fantastic.” 

From there, Slugger met with Taylor Guitar’s engineer and the finish supplier, and the result was a finish developed for bats that can cure in a UV line in 13 seconds. “If we are rushing a bat out for a player,” Bobby Hillerich says, “13 seconds in the UV line and its done.”

The combination of selecting only the hardest woods, the vacuum drying, pressure and heat when turning and a new finish adds up to a bat 30% harder than the previous version. “This is our hardest wood product we have ever made,” Joe Cmelik, senior product line manager, tells Baseball America. “We really went back to the basics, broke down where we were at and where we wanted to be. We see it as a new product.” 

The game’s top players have tested the bat for the last year and Cmelik calls the feedback “overwhelmingly positive,” with players commenting on it without prompting. “They notice this bat is a lot harder,” he says. “They notice it in sound, notice it in feel, they are not seeing ball marks.” 

The harder the bat, the more energy transfer to the ball, ideally increasing exit-speed velocity. “We are always looking for a couple extra feet,” Bobby Hillerich says. The results panned out during the 2023 MLB season, with Ronald Acuna Jr., Cody Bellinger and Kyle Schwarber all having outstanding seasons using the updated technology.

Now Slugger brings that technology to scale with the April 17 retail launch of the entire Prime line. Cmelik expects the RA13 Ronald Acuna Jr. player model and the C271 to remain the most popular bats in the lineup, and Louisville Slugger also plans limited editions and different colorways throughout the year. The Prime wood line has proven sought after at retail by high-level travel players, but also by college players in wood bat leagues. 

No matter the Prime style, every model has received the complete update, but the fifth-generation bat maker still gets drawn to the natural wood finish. It’s in his blood, after all. “I like,” Bobby Hillerich says, “to see everything inside that piece of wood.” 

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America.

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When Rangers hitting coach Tim Hyers first saw a LaceUp in person, he realized he had found the solution to a problem he’d been looking to fix.

Hyers was looking for a weight that would allow hitters to change the weighting of their bat during soft toss or tee work. Ideally, it would be durable, easy to adjust, but most importantly it would be able to use it while taking actual swings.

With the LaceUp, Hyers could shelve some homemade devices that he’d messed with to try to give hitters a different feel with their game bats.

“You can put weights on different parts of the bat with live swings. Front toss, side toss and you can use the same bat in the game,” Hyers said. “I feel the biggest benefit is weight at the knob of the bat. That’s really beneficial for a hitter to feel something heavy on their hands and not cast the barrel. I have used a number of homemade devices that aren’t very sturdy. Wrap it around the knob. They don’t have to change bats.”

With the LaceUp, hitters can quickly move the weight from the knob to up above the hands at the top of the handle. It can also be attached further up to serve like a doughnut.

“It’s a solid device. It’s well made. It’s easy to put on and take off. You don’t have to take a long time to change it,” Hyers said. “Guys loosen up with it. It’s a doughnut too. You can use it for multiple purposes. It’s easy to carry it around. It’s a simple device that has many different advantages.”

But for Hyers, the most useful purpose of the LaceUp is to help hitters use the tool to change the center of balance of the bat and the weighting in drills.

“They get into habits with their regular bat. You put the LaceUp on, the body has to organize to be on time to contact. It’s challenging the body. Adding that degree of difficulty. It’s not so heavy that you can’t swing the bat, but it’s enough weight to challenge the hitter to get the bat to contact. The body has to reorganize but in a good way. You’re challenging the body to attract different muscles in swing. It adds a degree of difficulty. That’s what hitters like.”

“When you add the weight into your hands, you feel that connection to your core and the center of your body. Players feel what they need to feel at that time. The body has to feel strong and stay inside to feel that strength. Fix, six or seven swings with that heavy weight in their hands. That’s where they feel the strength,” Hyers said.

There are overload and underload bats that can serve some of those roles, but the LaceUp allows hitters to do those same drills with the same bat they will use in the game.

“They want to use what’s close to game action. They don’t have to swing a different bat,” Hyers said.

The post LaceUp Helps Hitters Train In a Variety of Ways appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

The full lineup of 2022 bats in the BBCOR, USSSA and USA designations feature the ADV Hype, ADV 360, Maxum Ultra and Alpha ALX. Each model takes a distinct approach to materials, constructions and technologies to provide specific advantages to hitters when the bats release on Oct. 7.

The ADV Hype, available in BBCOR and USSSA certifications, features a new thermo-composite technology that combines a larger barrel and sweet spot with the lightest swing weight in the Easton bat lineup. This combination is designed to create explosive power at the plate. Additionally, The ConneXion Max technology maximizes energy transfer with a stiffer feel at contact and a Nitrocell foam to help reduce vibration. A carbon handle uses extra-stiff carbon fibers to create a more solid handle and stiff feel elite players love, Easton says. At the knob, the Power Boost Soft Knob tech offers additional leverage while reducing vibration and improving comfort.

“Our engineers are always looking for new ways to push the limits of performance for composite bats that also meet the needs of the modern athlete,” says Matt Arndt, Easton senior vice president of product and research and development. “That is what Easton delivers in the ADV Hype.”

The ADV 360 USA made a debut at the 2021 Little League World Series as a two-piece composite bat designed with a balance of power and speed. The composite barrel was designed to have a large sweet spot and combines with what the company calls a “hot out of the wrapper performance.” Isolating the handle from the barrel helps reduce vibration and creates a stiffer feel to transfer more energy into the ball at contact. The Power Boost Soft Knob makes an appearance on the ADV 360 USA.

The Maxum Ultra returns for 2022 with models now available in USSSA and USA certifications. Designed as the longest barrel and biggest sweet spot in the game, according to Easton, the one-piece seamless carbon construction is aimed at providing a uniform barrel strength and maximum performance from knob to cap. The one-piece extra-large barrel uses computer-controlled precision molding to produce a consistent, lightweight wall for performance.

New for 2022, the Alpha ALX offers a one-piece aluminum bat designed for a high barrel response and durability. Using the brand’s FlyWall Barrel Design, the ringless barrel features different layers of alloy across the barrel to create an even bigger sweet spot and a smoother feel at contact, the brand says. The Power Boost Soft Knob makes an appearance on the Alpha ALX, which is available in BBCOR, USSSA and USA.

The Easton BBCOR lineup, all at a -3 drop, includes the ADV Hype, Maxum Ultra and Alpha ALX.

The USSSA certification includes the ADV Hype at four drop options, the Maxum Ultra at two drops and the Alpha ALX at two drops.

Expect to find four different ADV 360 drops for USA certification, along with two Maxum Ultra options and one drop of the Alpha ALX.

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.

The post Easton Launches New ADV Hype Bat In Fresh 2022 Lineup appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

The upcoming Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center, located in the new Norton Sports Health Performance & Wellness Center in Louisville, will place exercise scientists in a lab to analyze a wide range of data points from a player’s swing and reaction time to then design custom training programs to help them become better hitters. It will also allow for more data-driven bat fitting.

“Our mission is to become the gold standard in baseball and fastpitch softball education and instruction,” says Chad Miller, Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center founder. “We will have an authentic baseball laboratory using the latest technology to help players fine-tune their game through measurable analytics like neuro response times and other important neurological and physical factors. Numbers don’t lie, so we can identify specifically what each player needs to work on and then create individualized programs to help those athletes improve.”

The Bat Fitting Lab will get housed within the Hitting Science Center, helping provide guidance to amateur, college, Minor League and Major League players on selecting bat models suited for them, including aspects such as barrel size, handle and knob style, length, weight distribution and specific species of wood for players selecting a wood bat.

The proximity of the Bat Fitting Lab to the Louisville Slugger wood bat factory will allow players to hit with their new bats and make adjustments in the same day. The Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center will be inside a renovated 26,000-square-foot training space at the site of the former Louisville Athletic Club on Westport Road in Louisville.

“Pro players have always selected bats based on feel,” says Kevin Uhrhan, Louisville Slugger manager for professional baseball. “Feel will remain part of it, but now we’ll be able to take the data from each hitter’s analysis and help them narrow down to the bat models and specifications that will help them have the most success.”

The Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center will feature VIP training service packages and a Spring Training Warm-Up Program for professional players. An academy program for amateurs and a hitting coach certification program, along with a series of hitting science camps and clinics, all come part of the plans for the space.

“Hall of Famer Ted Williams, one of the greatest hitters of all time, said that hitting a baseball is the single hardest thing to do in sports,” says Jim Hackett, general manager of Wilson Baseball & Softball, parent company of Louisville Slugger. “Now players at every level will be able to come to the Louisville Slugger Hitting Science Center’s Bat Fitting Lab and have their swing analyzed. Our exercise scientists will review the data and then work with each player to determine which of our wood and non-wood bats best fit their game.”

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.

The post Louisville Slugger Creating Diagnostic Hitting Lab, Bat Fitting Center appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

BaseballCloud, known for offering a suite of software to allow baseball and softball coaches and players to house and analyze data, announced the multi-million-dollar acquisition of optical tracking company Yakkertech. The companies say the changes will enhance products for players and coaches and do so at a competitive price point.

“Over the last four years we ended up spending so much of our time on managing data quality issues,” says Kevin Davidson, BaseballCloud CEO. “The industry is educated now. I feel it is our responsibility to provide the market with what it deserves and what it expects. This transition allows us to do so.”

Davidson says that optical tracking from Yakkertech offers the key to driving down costs, enhancing data quality and increasing data capturing opportunities.

Already serving as the analytics hub for over 100 collegiate programs and providing custom software solutions to MLB organizations, independent leagues, agencies and individual players, BaseballCloud has a strong presence across multiple levels of baseball. Yakkertech already has a heavy influence in MLB organizations.

“Optical tracking is the only viable solution moving forward in the game of baseball and softball,” says Sean Cashman, Yakkertech president. “Now, as part of BaseballCloud, our group can maintain that focus and bring the most user-friendly set of analytics to help coaches coach and players get better.”

Moving forward, users of both products have product improvements on the horizon, BaseballCloud says, whether objective fingerprint tracking for pitcher grips, the integration of a live data feed to give coaches and players the opportunity to make adjustments in real time or the capability to simultaneously capture data and analysis-grade in-game video of the pitcher and hitter.

Both companies were founded in 2017. BaseballCloud started in response to the divide between the quantity of data available in baseball and the quality of available tools used to analyze it. The first product, BCTeam, gave college baseball coaches and players a way to make use of ball flight data. The company has since grown across baseball and softball with multiple visualization tools to help users understand data, create realistic renditions of performance and even customize stadium designs to mimic home-field conditions.

Yakkertech’s goal from the start was to better track ball and player movement and has been in MLB since 2020. The software and camera systems allow for pitching and hitting analysis.

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.

The post BaseballCloud Acquires Yakkertech, Merging Hardware And Software Solutions appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

The A2000 lineup already received a significant update last year with the brand’s Comfort Pro Fit designs and Spin Control Technology, so this year’s revisions placed a focus on providing new looks to iconic patterns while adding SuperSkin and updated Spin Control patterns, says Aaron Gillette, Wilson ball glove product manager.

The specific updates feature a 1786 11.5″ infield model and 1799 outfield model gaining new looks and SuperSkin getting added to the 1786SS model and both the Tim Anderson and Ke’Bryan Hayes game models. Two new Spin Control patterns were included for infielders on the A2000 SC1787 11.75″ and the Pedroia Fit model.

The Hayes and Anderson game models represent new additions to the A2000 line, while Mookie Betts changed up his signature model with the 2022 A2K MB50.

“Ke’Bryan Hayes is one of the up-and-coming stars in the league and has made highlight reel play after highlight reel play,” Gillette says. “This year he wanted a glove that represented the city of Pittsburgh with its colors, while also prioritizing SuperSnakeSkin to keep the glove light at the hot corner.”

Anderson has long used his A2000 G4 pattern with reinforced H-Web for extra padding, but the A2000 TA7 GM now features grey SuperSnakeSkin for lightness and an aesthetic nod to his “Southside roots.”

“Anderson added red bold logos for a touch of flair and style that Tim is known for,” Gillette says.

Wilson has worked with Betts over the years and his updated model brings his background as an infielder into a small, light outfield glove, the only 12.5″ outfield glove offered in the A2K lineup. Betts uses royal and white SuperSkin and red laces for aesthetic flair.

Wilson’s Legion of Leather game models also include Jose Abreu‘s A2K, Ozzie Albies‘ A2K and Clayton Kershaw‘s A2000. Expect to see a Matt Chapman A2K and a Juan Soto A2K join the Wilson game model lineup later in 2021.

Gillette says SuperSkin continues as a popular addition to the A2000 line. “It is used by over one hundred MLB athletes and countless fastpitch athletes as well,” he says. “With baseball, many of our gloves trended toward blacks and traditional leathers.”

Along with the A2000 updates for 2022, Wilson unveiled a new A1000 lineup with pro-style patterns and game-ready leather at a less expensive price point than the A2000.

For fastpitch players, the A2000 H75 and H12 both received updated looks while game models from Aubree Munro, Kelsey Stewart and Sierra Romero all now feature Spin Control Technology. Wilson also released a USA Softball Game Model series this summer featuring the gloves of eight of USA Softball’s Olympic roster players that added Delaney Spaulding, Val Arioto, Amanda Chidester, Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman to the mix.

In August, Ali Aguilar will become the first-ever Wilson Advisory Staff fastpitch athlete to release a signature A2K model, bringing her individual twist to the A2K 1787.

Trending colors in fastpitch include traditional leather colors, with Romero’s glove a prime example in saddle tan and walnut leather. That said, Gillette says customization in fastpitch is gaining steam, with Stewart’s sky-blue glove an example of the first of that color to hit the shelves.

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.

The post Wilson Launches 2022 A2000 Glove Line, Introduces New Game Models appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

The two-piece elbow guard was created to provide more coverage than the original EvoShield Elbow Guard and has already been adopted by MLB players Ronald Acuna Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., JJ Bleday, Jeff McNeil and Jesse Winker. “The two-piece elbow guard is my favorite elbow guard to be made,” Winker says, while adding the range of motion with protection is a good combination. “And, on top of that, I think it looks the coolest.”

The two-piece construction covers batters from the triceps to the forearm, using the lightweight custom-molded Gel-to-Shell technology found in the Pro-SRZ lineup. The triceps shield is an inch longer than the standard Pro-SRZ Elbow Guard and the forearm shield is 5-1/2 inches. An elastic strap holds the two pieces together.

“We decided it was best to make a more baked-in solution for guys,” says Drew Tryner, EvoShield industrial designer. “It was intentionally designed to offer that additional coverage without impeding their range of motion.”

Acuna Jr. served as the baseline when EvoShield principal designer Matt Dierkes started working on the fresh product. The Two-Piece Elbow Guard features two Gel-to-Shell shields—one on the triceps and another on the forearm—in a single unit to offer maximum protection in a streamlined construction.

“This was designed from the ground up with the intention of having elbow and forearm protection in one,” Dierkes says. “It is not an add-on to a current guard.”

The new EvoShield Pro-SRZ Hand Guard shields the back of a batter’s lead hand and the outside of the wrist, using a finger loop to secure the Gel-to-Shell guard in place. The guard is designed to be worn over a batting glove.

Josh Harrison, Marco Luciano, Zack Short, Monte Harrison, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Don Smith and McNeil have all started wearing the new product.

“We wanted to make sure that we protected those areas in as seamless a product as possible,” Tryner says. “It couldn’t impede a player’s swing or wrist manipulation, but it had to keep them from getting their wrists and hands blown up on an inside cutter.”

The new design uses two shields for improved protection, with one shield molding across the wrist and the other across the back of the hand.

“We wanted to create a hand guard that also had wrist protection for the bottom hand,” says Corey Williams, EvoShield player insights specialist. “A lot of players and trainers said that they have tried to protect that part of the wrist, but nothing has worked due to mobility issues. We solved for that issue with this hand guard.”

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.

The post EvoShield Launches New Elbow And Hand Guards appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

“Velocity in the gun is used for so many other things,” says Steve Goody, Pocket Radar owner.

Craig Lefferts, the Oakland A’s’ rehab coordinator, says that Pocket Radar has been invaluable. “We really work on effort level and getting our pitchers back, they have to start slow and build into the process,” he says. “A lot of times it is difficult for the pitchers to judge their effort. I have taken them out of the equation because the Pocket Radar lets me know exactly what type of effort by velocity they are putting into it. Now our program is really based on the effort from the Pocket Radar, which I use with every throw with every pitcher all year long.”

That baseline of data stretches beyond just rehab. It can help in injury prevention, such as when a pitcher sees velocity drop without pain, alerting coaches to a potential fatigue issue. The device can also ensure a structured warmup routine, such as how Los Angeles pitcher Shohei Ohtani uses the device during every warmup to ensure he is hitting the correct level of exertion. 

Goody says that as an engineer and business owner when he first saw his product have a range of alternative uses, he was excited. In the early days of Pocket Radar, coaches were using it to train pitchers to feel speeds, using the data from the device to train them to understand the velocity differences between their fastball and changeup, for example. After repetition, pitchers were able to understand the “feeling associated with the speed,” helping them hit the desired marks for different pitchers.

That training use opened up additional uses, such as rehab. Goody says trainers were telling him they wanted players returning from Tommy John’s surgery throwing at 50% but they didn’t know what that felt like and still threw too hard. “They could train them what 50% really feels like,” Goody says. “You have to be really careful after surgery. You have to keep your velocity down, your reps down. You can control those velocities and be diligent about following your protocols with a radar gun.” 

Medical departments at professional clubs and major collegiate programs are buying sets of guns for the entire staff, but Goody says the value of Pocket Radar is that it puts pro-level data in the hands of any player at any level, opening up proper training and rehab opportunities from the backyard to the diamond.

It is the data, Goody says, that allows for control and precision in both rehab and training. “Data is power and knowledge,” he says, “in athletics it is about high fidelity feedback. Is what I am doing what I want to be doing?”

With that, Pocket Radar has continued to highlight training tools, especially with its Smart Coach platform that tracks data and marries it to tagged video to help players and coaches understand everything from pitching data to exit velocity for batters and overhand throwing velocity for position payers. “Athletes from every level use feedback to accelerate their performance,” Goody says. “If you aren’t using data, it is subjective on if you are getting better.”

Having the velocity knowledge can help a coach reinforce feedback or give an athlete understanding on if mechanical modifications or workout and nutritional changes have had an impact on performance. “Training uses the velocity feedback as an indicator that it is right,” Goody says. “It proves your training is working.”

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.

The post Pocket Radar A Key Recovery And Training Tool appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

Using a fresh “Vegas gold and royal metallic” colorway, this is the first release of the new 2022 model. The scheduled release time for the ’22 Meta BBCOR is fall.

“We knew we wanted to do something really fun to celebrate being back at the College World Series,” says Jake Misener, Louisville Slugger brand manager, “while giving everyone a little taste of what’s to come in the new lineup.”

The 2022 Meta (-3) BBCOR is built for power, the brand says. The design features an EKO composite barrel with a fresh sound, “unlike anything in the game,” meant to strike a balance between performance and feel. The three-piece construction centers around the brand’s patented 3FX connection system designed to give hitters a stiff feel on contact that pairs with the bat’s sweet spot. The barrel length gets maximized with the Premium GT1 End Cap.

“The College World Series is all about celebrating the best in the game and what better way to do that than to offer players a chance to get their hands on a limited-edition BBCOR Meta?” asks Jim Early, global director of innovation for Louisville Slugger.

The Omaha store will have more than just the latest from Louisville Slugger, with a range of limited-edition products from the entire Wilson family meant to commemorate and celebrate the College World Series. The outside of the store features a new exterior mural meant to capture some of the game’s timeless jargon. Wilson hopes the mural not only draws attention to the product inside but becomes a popular spot for social media images during the Omaha event.

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.

The post Louisville Slugger Debuts Limited-Edition Meta During CWS appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

“We tested the waters on the amateur side with the Steel Pressed finish and it took off,” says Travis Copley, Old Hickory vice president of sales. “The big-league guys were asking for it, even though we’d been giving it to them already.”

The Steel Pressed design offers Old Hickory’s pro-level finishing by compressing the barrel similar to an old-school boning process. By compacting the bat’s wood, Steel Pressed makes bats exponentially harder. Adding a high-gloss lacquer finish improves strength—the bat comes with a 45-day warranty—and provides a visual pop and crisper sound.

On the performance side, Copley says players see a 3 to 4 mile per hour increase in exit velocity. “The big-league guys we were talking to said they felt a difference in how the ball came off the bat and carried in games,” he says. “We were hearing a lot of the same thoughts on it from the amateur level, with the ball coming off the bat harder and traveling farther.”

While Old Hickory started using the finish on pro-level gear before opening it to the amateur market, when it became widely available last summer and fall, it turned into an instant hit for the company. Pros who didn’t know they already had it, wanted it and Steel Pressed quickly became a top seller for the brand. Based on online sales, Steel Pressed has remained either the top or second-highest seller on a weekly basis for the last seven months. Now available in three models, Copley says it won’t stop there.

“It does have its own look,” he says, “it is a noticeable difference. It is flashier.” The finish can be added to any color and Old Hickory is now experimenting with differing additives to give the finish new attributes, such as color shifting when outside. “There are some things we are just now getting into that hopefully when the end of the season comes, we have time to play around with,” he says. Expect the company to test new finishes with focus groups and have fresh cosmetic additions by holiday season.

Whether the Steel Pressed or even the Black Label—a bat featuring wood that passes MLB standards, but may still have a slight cosmetic mark that doesn’t pass Old Hickory standards so it gets offered at a cost discount for young players needing a “cost-effective cage bat”—wood bats remain the staple of Old Hickory, with about 85% of all sales coming from bats.

Another popular Old Hickory product is batting gloves. While the Team Classic offers a mainstay for the brand, Copley says a new batting glove design for the high-end player will release this summer, adding a second style to the mix. Expect the new glove to come thinner and tighter fitting. “There are some things we changed off the current glove to give it a completely different feeling when on your hand,” he says.

A new line of apparel is proving a popular growth point for Old Hickory.

But everything centers around the wood bat, whether for the roughly 200 MLB players who swing Old Hickory or the amateur players. “The amateur market is growing rapidly, especially the wood bat segment,” Copley says. “Wood bat tournaments are starting younger and younger every year. To see the MLB guys swing and have that trickle down built our company, but to come into a new product at the amateur market (Steel Pressed) and see that filter up is a really good feeling.”

Whether pro or amateur, one of the most famous players using Old Hickory remains Mike Trout, off to one of his best starts ever. During his second year in MLB, Trout switched to a custom Old Hickory bat, now named the MT27. The 33-1/2-inch length, 31-1/2-ounce weight maple bat comes cupped with a black barrel and natural handle. “Right after his rookie year he transitioned into this model,” Copley says. “He hasn’t changed since.”

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.

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