BLAST FROM THE PAST

Louisville Slugger makes Prime bat 30% harder by dipping into 1902 company patent

- TIM NEWCOMB

Everything about the completely revamped Louisville Slugger Prime wood bat line, which launched April 17, focuses on making the bat harder. To get there, it required the team to reimagine the manufacturing process, borrow finishing concepts from the guitar industry and dip back into a 1902 patent from one of the brand’s founders.

There’s a lot new in the fresh iteration of the Louisville Slugger Prime line to get the bats 30% harder and allow the 140-year-old brand to more than double the warranty from 30 days to an industry-leading 75 days. It all starts with a trip back into company history.

Bobby Hillerich, fifth-generation bat maker and vice president of manufacturing and product development, is a great-grandson of Bud Hillerich, who created the first-ever Slugger bat for professional Louisville Eclipse player Pete Browning in his father’s woodworking shop. Bobby Hillerich was researching published studies on wood surface hardening techniques when he saw a Penn State University study reference a 1902 patent from his great-grandfather regarding hickory wood spun on a lathe.

“There is a combination of pressure and heat that is getting us the surface tension that we want,” Bobby Hillerich said. “We’ve updated it with new techniques and pressures.”