Post by Da Boss on Aug 12, 2020 21:14:13 GMT -5
According to legend, in 1884 a professional baseball player for the Louisville Eclipse (Pete Browning) broke his baseball bat during a game in frustration after finishing another game without a single hit. One of the bat boys for the team, whose father owned a wood working shop, brought Browning to the shop after the game and had a new bat hand crafted for the power hitter. The next game, Browning managed to get a hit during every at bat. Following this, the entire team started showing up to the shop and having hand crafted bats made for each of them. Thus, the Louisville Slugger was born.
Making the famous baseball bats for over a century now, most people don't realize that they are not actually mass marketed in Louisville. If you go to a sporting goods store, and buy a Louisville Slugger, they are usually produced in a factory in Indiana. What is made in Louisville are the bats that people have had specifically designed for them; using specific wood for the core and the shell, specific lengths on the handles, specific widths of the bat, specific shapes, specific curves. Anybody can go into the Louisville Slugger museum and purchase a bat that is specifically designed to their specifications if they have the money. Additionally, because wooden bats are known to break from time to time, the company stores the specifications of all custom bats, and the Louisville factory and museum is capable of mass producing that specific bat over and over again; allowing baseball players to be constantly restocked on their own custom bats.
It is also included in the contract that the design belongs to the company. This is done so that, once a player retires, the company will begin cranking out that design of bat with the player's name on the bat. Want to own the exact same kind of bat used by the Babe? No problem. Derek Jeter? Not an issue. Willie Mays, Cal Ripken, Pete Rose? They have you covered.
Once inside the museum and factory, there is plenty of baseball memorabilia for fans of the game to see. Additionally, the guided tour takes you out onto the factory floor where a number of the players have signed the machines which are programed to make their bat. The tour then ends at the gift shop where you can custom order your bat, or one used by the greats. Once your bat comes in, there is even an indoor batting range, so that players can work on their skills year round. For fans of baseball, this place might not be Mecca, but it is close to it.
Making the famous baseball bats for over a century now, most people don't realize that they are not actually mass marketed in Louisville. If you go to a sporting goods store, and buy a Louisville Slugger, they are usually produced in a factory in Indiana. What is made in Louisville are the bats that people have had specifically designed for them; using specific wood for the core and the shell, specific lengths on the handles, specific widths of the bat, specific shapes, specific curves. Anybody can go into the Louisville Slugger museum and purchase a bat that is specifically designed to their specifications if they have the money. Additionally, because wooden bats are known to break from time to time, the company stores the specifications of all custom bats, and the Louisville factory and museum is capable of mass producing that specific bat over and over again; allowing baseball players to be constantly restocked on their own custom bats.
It is also included in the contract that the design belongs to the company. This is done so that, once a player retires, the company will begin cranking out that design of bat with the player's name on the bat. Want to own the exact same kind of bat used by the Babe? No problem. Derek Jeter? Not an issue. Willie Mays, Cal Ripken, Pete Rose? They have you covered.
Once inside the museum and factory, there is plenty of baseball memorabilia for fans of the game to see. Additionally, the guided tour takes you out onto the factory floor where a number of the players have signed the machines which are programed to make their bat. The tour then ends at the gift shop where you can custom order your bat, or one used by the greats. Once your bat comes in, there is even an indoor batting range, so that players can work on their skills year round. For fans of baseball, this place might not be Mecca, but it is close to it.