Lumber

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

We had to go out and get the Lunchpail a new baseball bat since he broke the one he got from granny on xmas the very first time he used it (at the batting cage, probably not a great idea but live and learn). His rec and school leagues strictly use wood bats.



The one he broke was the same model, 1 inch longer than the one he'd used for 3 years and had hundreds of swings and hits with. That one also gave out with small hairline crack.



As we learned shopping ash bats are no longer cool and birch and maple are where it's at. Almost all ballplayers today use them. You shouldn't be surprised to learn they cost a sobering amount more but jesus what a weapon we got. Looks and feels like a piece of Chinese furniture but light, hard, dangerous. Another thing about pricey bats, you'll be tempted to buy a cheap "practice" model. What a biz plan.



Lunchie got the Tim Anderson birch model here



[YOUTUBE]KonoXt42Qt8[/YOUTUBE]



I'd never heard of Victus before, it is a sub-label of the Marucci brand, which I guess I recognize but is also kind of new. Founded by Kurt Ainsworth who you might recall was a pitcher for the Giants in the early oughts. (Marucci is the name of Louisiana trainer who made the originals in his shop). Ainsworth is the CEO now, the company got bought by a holding company last year for $200M and its Marucci and Victus brands are the top 2 in MLB market share today. The brands we knew as kids are vanishing faster than the $10 bat. Chandler?



https://www.batdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-Opening-Day-Bat-Usage-Percentage.png>

[Edgy MD]

Is Slugger the name Hillerich & Bradsby is now operating under?

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Yeah that's what the reference is to. Also Lunchie's old model. They are all making maple and birch now

[LWFS]

We're on into softball bats here, where we're all still into not-so-heavy metal.



Demarini appears to be the big, swinging bat in this aluminum/composite market, but legacy brands have a bit more staying power than with the wood (with Slugger, Easton, and Mizuno also in the top 5).

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I once interviewed the founder of DiMarini, Ray DiMarini. He was a custom motorcycle-part manufacturer and softball enthusiast looking for something else to do with the alloy materials he was working with. That company has since been acquired by one of the old-school sporting goods brands and their parents which are usually some kind of diversified holding company.