Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory
When we were in Lousiville for the last Summit tournament *wipes away tear*, our parents took us to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory before the games started. It was pretty cool. The process for making the bats is mind-blowing. The precision is amazing for minor leagues and lower, but if you thought that was good, it gets better for the Major Leagues.
There was a guy who makes bats by hand for demonstration purposes and he can do a bat in about 30 minutes, if memory serves. That seems pretty fast, but of course, the machines can go way faster. The more precise machine can do one between 45 seconds and a full minute, while the less precise (still very precise) machine is more like 30 seconds.
On the ends of the bats are these nubs for the machines to hold on to the bats, and when they're done, the nubs are cut off. They don't have any use for them at the factory, so they give them away as souvenirs. They also hand out mini bats that say Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory.
Another really cool feature is the wall of signatures. They have, all the way back to 1900, the signature of every single player who has a signed contract with them. (I'm pretty sure it's just Major Leaguers). The first name on the wall? Ty Cobb :)
They also have in a separate section the signatures of guys who had contracts and are in the hall of fame. Pudge Rodriguez and Alan Trammell are on there. Speaking of Alan Trammell, they have this section of the museum with authentic bats that famous players used. There is one for every MLB team, and then some iconic players as well. I got to hold (wearing gloves) one of Alan Trammell's bats. Pretty cool.
It was neat. The factory is much smaller than I would have thought, for all the bats they make. The number was staggering; I don't even remember it. (I'm not good at remembering numbers anyway). I guess they ship them out quickly so they don't need much space.
There was a guy who makes bats by hand for demonstration purposes and he can do a bat in about 30 minutes, if memory serves. That seems pretty fast, but of course, the machines can go way faster. The more precise machine can do one between 45 seconds and a full minute, while the less precise (still very precise) machine is more like 30 seconds.
On the ends of the bats are these nubs for the machines to hold on to the bats, and when they're done, the nubs are cut off. They don't have any use for them at the factory, so they give them away as souvenirs. They also hand out mini bats that say Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory.
Another really cool feature is the wall of signatures. They have, all the way back to 1900, the signature of every single player who has a signed contract with them. (I'm pretty sure it's just Major Leaguers). The first name on the wall? Ty Cobb :)
They also have in a separate section the signatures of guys who had contracts and are in the hall of fame. Pudge Rodriguez and Alan Trammell are on there. Speaking of Alan Trammell, they have this section of the museum with authentic bats that famous players used. There is one for every MLB team, and then some iconic players as well. I got to hold (wearing gloves) one of Alan Trammell's bats. Pretty cool.
It was neat. The factory is much smaller than I would have thought, for all the bats they make. The number was staggering; I don't even remember it. (I'm not good at remembering numbers anyway). I guess they ship them out quickly so they don't need much space.
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