You may not have heard of Hoosier Bat Company in Valparaiso, IN but major league baseball sluggers past and present - like Prince Fielder, Josh Hamilton, Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa - sure have.

    A growing number of major and minor league players are now using many of the 35,000 baseball bats that are custom made each year at Hoosier Bat Company.

    But whether you're a star player or just a fan, you are welcome to stop in their gift shop and browse for bats and baseball-related gifts - like stools with legs made of baseball bats as well as baseball-themed clocks, jewelry and more.

    You can also set up a free tour (for ages 8 and older) to see how blocks of wood like ash, maple and hickory are turned into beautiful works of art that just happen to be very useful in smacking baseballs.

    The tour shows everything from start of the bat-making process (the cutting and sanding) to the finish (the painting and the adding of the words Hoosier Bat and the trademark three rings). In the case of the three-piece bats, the tour shows how the three separate pieces of wood are finger jointed and glued to become one bat.

    And while you're there, don't forget to say hello to Laci, the official dog of Hoosier Bat.

    Hoosier Bat, which began in 1991, is actually the third oldest bat manufacturer in the country, trailing only Louisville Slugger and Rawlings.

    Hoosier Bat Company owners Dave and Debbie Cook got their start after Dave patented a design that revolutionized wooden baseball bats. Dave, who was working as a scout for the New York Yankees at the time, invented a bat that has ash in the handle, hickory in the sweet spot and maple on the barrel end.

    Dave's "WoodForce" baseball bat has the advantage of having a solid hickory sweet spot that won't flake, without the too-heavy feel of an all-hickory bat.

    Hoosier Bat makes one-piece ash or birch bats that are approved for use in the major and minor leagues -- and 30 to 35 major league players and several hundred minor league player use them each season. Hoosier Bat's patented three-piece bats are approved for use in the college game on down.

    Hoosier Bat expects to benefit from the fact that aluminum bats - which are allowed in college on down - must meet new standards that make them similar to wood bats in terms of the exit velocity of the hit baseball.

    "I see our business increasing and more players are wanting to go back to wood," Debbie Cook said.

    The five-person staff at Hoosier Bat (and that includes the Cooks) is ready to "field" any new orders.

    Dave and Debbie have certainly had offers to buy their business, but they just didn't feel like the new owners would make the bats with the same quality, or they worried the business would be moved out of Valparaiso.

    Dave said the majority of products used in America's pastime - like baseballs and uniforms - are not even made in America.

    So he's proud that the bats still are. He invites you to stop in and see for yourself.
   

Hoosier Bat Company
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday
Address: 4511 East Evans Avenue, Valparaiso, IN 46383
Phone: 219-531-1006
Web: hoosierbat.com



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