Recently, Barbara and I visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in Louisville, Kentucky. John A. “Bud” Hillerich was just 17 years old when he made the very first, what would be later be known as the Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat, in his father’s workshop, for Pete Browning in 1884. Mr. Browning, at that time, was known to fans as the Louisville Slugger. In 1916 the Hillerich and Bradsby Co. was born. Years later the name was changed to Louisville Slugger.
All of the wood, maple, birch and hickory used in making baseball bats come from the forests in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, but only 15% of the wood harvested from the forest make it to Louisville. All of the major league bats are made in Louisville. The rest of the wood is used for little league and minor league bats and made elsewhere. The wood headed for Louisville is made into 37 inch billets from maple and birch. Once these billets arrive in Louisville, they are transported to a lathe that is set, by computer, to specifications requested by a major league player, for turning. All of the sawdust created during turning of the baseball bat, is vacuumed up and transported to turkey farms and used for their bedding. After the bats are created, they are loaded on the original “Batmobile” for transport for further finishing: the nubs on each end are cut off, the bat is sanded, and the bats are branded and painted matching the specifications of the major league player.
The museum highlights some of the history of baseball and the greats we all know, Ruth, Aaron, and Williams, to name a few. So if you’re ever in Louisville, Kentucky, be sure to stop by the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, it is a fun place.
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