The 2009 Home Run Derby brought some exciting action, and a brand new leader in the baseball bat category. While the Champion Swung the original maple bat - Sam Bat , 4 of the 8 players were using Marucci - a name most hadn’t heard of just 2 years ago.
Albert Pujols - Marucci
Joe Mauer - Rawlings
Carlos Pena - Marucci
Ryan Howard - Marucci
Brandon Inge - Marucci
Prince Fielder - Sam Bat (CHAMPION)
Adrian Gonzalez - Trinity
Dustin Ackley. Tim Wheeler. Grant Green. Which way is your team going when it looks for the best bats in tonight’s 2009 MLB draft? Sure, plenty of duds have come from drafts in recent memory, but that doesn’t stop us from thinking our favorite team’s scouting department is going to find this year’s biggest start. Who are you pulling for your team to pick up in tonight’s draft?
Had you already heard about the response Vernon Wells had for a bunch of hecklers at the beginning of this month? After enough innings of shouts and jeers, the story goes, Wells tossed a ball up to the stands, with a handwritten message:
“Here’s your ball, now please tell me what gas station you work at so I can come and yell at you when you’re working. Please sit down, shut up, and enjoy the game. From your favorite centerfielder, Vernon Wells”
Maybe the fans got under Wells’s skin, but that’s a pretty comedic retort. Poetry it’s not. Billy Chapel’s signed message in For the Love of the Game it’s not. (And while we’re on Costner, it’s also not as good as the note Crash sent Annie in Bull Durham.)
HomerDerby caught up with the hecklers to share their story and posted the interview. Of course, they may not be up to the caliber of the original hecklers, but you can judge for yourself.
Last year, Major League Baseball started its investigation into the abundance of broken bats in recent years. At the time, a three-week count of broken bats in Major-League games showed about one shattered bat per game. After this first week of the regular season, it doesn’t look like the rate is coming down. Sure, maybe it’s the cold weather, but it seems like bats are breaking everywhere again. We’ve pretty much accepted it as part of the game. But just because we’re used to it doesn’t mean it’s safe.
Recalling last year’s incidents of fans and professionals getting hit in the head (Pittsburgh Pirate coach Don Long, umpire Brian O’Nora, and Dodger fan Susan Rhodes, who recovered from severe injuries after she was hit by a broken bat off Todd Helton), Ward Dill found a solution: the Radial Bat. It takes twelve wedges of wood and an adhesive, and it’s not likely to be adopted by pro ball. But it’s a step toward safety, clamped under 36,000 pounds of pressure. At $100 to $150 each, Dill’s Radial Bat is still pricey. The good news is, that if smart inventors’ minds like Dill’s are on the job, baseball may get the solution it needs for the broken bat blues.
I’m not sure what made him pick up a wood lathe an auction, but I’m glad that Michael Dean did. It made for a great story. Since he had the lathe, when his son Matt asked him to make him a new baseball bat, he gave it a try. The short version of the story: Matt loved the bat. Matt’s baseball team loved the bats. And now, just two years later, Michael has a full-fledged company. Michael’s bat manufacturing company, Silver Creek Baseball Bats, produces all of their bats by hand, and they’re expected to sell 1500 this year!
A giant is turning 125 this year. All season long, Louisville Slugger celebrates its 125 anniversary. Ingrained in baseball’s history, Louisville Slugger has always been family-owned, and the company stands as a great part of baseball’s legacy. From their first baseball bat (made for Pete Browning in 1884) to becoming the first company to sign a player to a promotional endorsement contract (Honus Wagner in 1905) to today, making bats for more than 8,500 professional baseball players, Louisville Slugger still remains connected to the individual fan. Their factory are second-to-none, and a tour of their facilities is a walk through baseball history.
You don’t need to be a Hall of Famer to appreciate the quality of a Louisville Slugger bat. Whether you’re looking for aluminum bats or wood bats, they’ll have the product to the fit your budget. But always one for a personal touch, you can also get customized bats, which make great gifts.
They’ll be celebrating all season long, but you can learn more about the 125th anniversary celebration at Louisville Slugger’s official site.
File this one in the dumb criminals category…this time out of Omaha, NE
Police arrested a 26-year-old man at Scheels Sporting Goods on Saturday after a customer saw him putting three baseball bats in his pants.
A female customer saw the man conceal the three $300 bats in his pants before 9:30 a.m., Omaha police said in a report.
You know there is something wrong with the bat industry when baseball bats become a regular target of thieves. This guy had $900 in Easton Stealth Bats down his pants as he tried to walk out of the store….
You know bats are expensive when someone breaks into a sporting good story and steals….6 baseball bats..
BURLINGTON - One man was arrested and another remains at large in connection with the theft of more than $2,000 in baseball bats from a Burlington store.
At 1:23 a.m. Monday, officers responded to Burlington Sporting Goods at 2233 Hanford Road on an alarm call.
Officers found the business was broken into and six baseball bats valued at $2,214 were missing.
Through video surveillance, officers were able to identify two suspects.
2008 Home Run Derby Participants & The Bats They Used
Dan Uggla - Florida - Marucci
Grady Sizemore - Cleveland - Louisville Slugger
Evan Longoria - Tampa Bay - Louisville Slugger
Chase Utley - Philadelphia - Marucci
Ryan Braun - Milwaukee - Sam Bat
Josh Hamilton - Texas - Louisville Slugger
Justin Morneau - Minnesota - BWP - Winner
Louisville Slugger: 3 Players
Marucci: 2 Players
Sam Bat: 1 Player
BWP: 1 Player
