Sports
Jack Marucci Created a Baseball Bat For His Son in His Backyard. Now He Runs The Biggest Bat Company in America
Jack Marucci shares his inspiring journey from creating a baseball bat for his son in his backyard to founding Marucci Sports, the largest bat company in America. He reflects on his humble beginnings ...
Jack Marucci Created a Baseball Bat For His Son in His Backyard. Now He Runs The Biggest Bat Company in America
Sports •
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Interactive Transcript
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And we return to our American stories.
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Up next, a story from Jack Marucci.
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Jack is the director of performance in Louisiana State University's athletic department,
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but also the founder of Marucci Sports, a company known for its baseball bat.
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He used Jack with a story of how his company came to be.
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Let's get into it.
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You know, we're from a coal mining town.
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Pretty humble beginnings.
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We're from a pretty immigrant family.
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My mom was 11 when she came from Spain and my grandfather's from Italy.
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So we're half Spanish, half Italian, but and that was the makeup of most of the people we grew up
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with everybody we forget.
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You know, we went to the Italian church in St. Teresa.
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We thought that's how it was everywhere.
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So my mom, her dad came over to be a coal miner.
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And we went back to see her where she grew up.
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It was like, it was like, um, San Diego.
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I don't know what would you do.
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Place, they lived right by the ocean.
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But I guess times are so bad at a civil war.
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The economy was bad and the war's breaking out.
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This was like in the early 40s.
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But her dad comes over here right before the war.
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And he tries to save money, bring the family up,
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but he can't get back and forth.
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So my mom didn't see him until 11 years.
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Until we could save up the money.
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So she was 11 the first time she saw her dad.
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Then my dad's side, my grandfather came over when he was 15.
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Then he got deported because he had to be 16.
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Or you can see on the Ellis Island report, we found it.
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Somehow he got through all that and they said, well, you're only 15.
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So he had to go all the way back.
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You know, they were afraid, he was afraid they were going to make him a priest.
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He didn't want to become a priest.
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So he started a restaurant.
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They was called Shady Side-In.
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It was built from nothing.
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It was just a little deli.
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And they built it into a place where bank would seat up to 600, 700 people.
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I mean, it just kept growing.
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And it was the same thing.
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That's when I first probably came across the first professional athletes.
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Because we used to check coats.
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Maybe my brother.
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We're like 10 years old and you're checking coats man.
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And they're giving you these big coats and which stay up late and we're so tired.
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But that's the first time I really started with coming in with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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We saw this coat and we're going, hey, let's check in his pockets.
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We were looking for money.
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But we found a business card with the Willie Stargill Star.
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We thought, you know, so we used to get tips.
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You know, give you a buck, you know, you can make.
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It fits 100 coats.
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You're making 100 bucks.
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You know, you split it.
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What's 50 bucks each?
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Not bad.
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You're for a 10 year old.
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My dad end up being the butcher.
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My dad did the bartending.
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So we came up pretty much, you know, we had the one shower in the house.
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All three boys slept in the one room and then my sister.
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So, you know, it teaches you a good work ethic.
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Obviously, Western Pennsylvania is an area that's blue collar.
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You know, you're going to learn things that you don't think it's going to pay off down the road.
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You know, you take that typing class back then and now everything's computers.
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You learn how to type.
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Then you take a woodshop class that you learn how to use a wood lathe.
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You know, which down the road would become something that I could learn to use to my advantage.
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And, you know, help develop a bet for my son.
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You never know what's going to influence you.
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So, my son was, he's about 70 years old, Gino.
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And we're watching, we used to watch a lot of baseball.
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I didn't play old videos or bird of culminating.
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So, that became his guy.
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He wears 21 today.
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He wore it as a little league.
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He got back into 21 because of bird of culminating.
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So, again, Western Pennsylvania, we're a little bit obsessed, of course.
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We're going to force them to like the pirates and the stealers and the penguins.
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So, that's just part of what we do.
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And he like bonds his bat.
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He saw the black and two-tone and wood batting.
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He had that, I like that.
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Man, I want to play with a wood bat.
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That's different.
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Because wood bats, I don't even mention back then.
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Now you got wood bat tournaments and everyone likes the wood bat.
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So, I end up calling all these bat companies.
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None of them, they all had stock bats.
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None more small enough.
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For short enough, really.
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It was really the size.
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Everybody maybe was an inch off.
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I needed a 27.
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They only stopped a 29 or I stopped a 28.
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So, I started looking around and there were some old bats stored here at LSU.
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I'm looking at them and I said, all right.
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Then we had a quarterback, Matt Maugh.
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I started talking to Matt, Matt played for the Cubs for three years.
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And I said, Matt, I'm thinking about making a bat for my son.
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You mind if I'm going to make one and I want to bring it in?
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Since you played, tell me what we need to do to make this thing tapered right.
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So, I made the first one.
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I have it in my office today.
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And it top heavy and I use electrical tape to
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do whatever.
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And I carved in, I think that was the Geno Crusher.
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I put his school he was at.
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That was my first one.
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So, the next one I start making, I got a lot better.
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That was the Geno slugger.
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So, he starts hitting with him.
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He had the DNA to hit.
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You know, he had the good eyesight.
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He was a front-eyed dominant kid.
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And he was pretty good.
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So, he starts getting a little lig, he's using a wood bat.
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Okay, this is different.
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But he's one of the best hitters.
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So, everybody on the team goes, well, if he's hitting good with that,
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I want one with my kid's name on it.
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So, that's when I formed a little company, Merchie Bat Company.
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So, I bought a shed.
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I bought it from Canada.
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It was a cedar shed.
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And I told the guy what I wanted.
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Because I thought cedar is going to last longer in this weather,
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the mildew, the, you know, it's like a rot.
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I said, I want doors in the front and the back.
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He goes, why do you want that?
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I said, have you ever lived in Louisiana?
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I said, it's like living on the equator.
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I said, I need air flow.
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So, I put a fan in there and that was my bat shop.
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That was 2002.
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I always joke around.
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I said, saving was a little stressful.
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So, I was a nice stressful leaf to get it away.
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So, after football, I spent nights in the neighborhood come over.
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What are you doing?
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They're sold out everywhere.
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I go making bats.
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You're making bats.
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He goes, give me a couple.
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You know, everyone's, as soon as they saw it, they go, I want one.
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So, I started 25 bucks.
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I'm in the wood cost probably 15.
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Because money was never a thing.
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I felt bad.
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I felt bad that I was getting in charge of somebody for it.
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Then I said, well, I better start charging because, you know,
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The first major league bat was Eduardo Perez.
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I was going up for an athletic trainer's convention.
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And we're catching up and I was going to go to the Cardinals game.
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You're not told what I was doing because he goes, bring me one up.
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And he gave me a model, which was a common model.
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Everything was based off of Louisville's slugger model.
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So, C-243.
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I said, all right, I think I can find one in the pile because
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LSU had some wood bats laying around.
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I found one that I, so I got the hanger and I would hang it on the hanger
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and I would do it by feel.
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I would cut the bat.
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I got pretty good by that.
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By eye, I'd feel.
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So, I made him, I think I made him too.
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And I mean, what's he going to do with these?
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Maybe he's just going to put it up in his high-hours.
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I thought it was neat that a major league guy, you know,
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so he meets me in front of the hotel and he pulls out the box and his eyes light up.
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And he goes, man, he goes, I'm going to use this tonight.
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I said, what?
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I said, this thing's going to explode at me.
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I said, I see seven and eight-year-olds swinging this.
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I said, you're going to swing this thing.
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I said, he goes, I'm going to sneak it in because I want licensed, you know,
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the logos, this big logo.
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Yeah, there's all these regulations which you find out.
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And he goes, I tell you what, I want you to come down from batting practice.
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Meet some guys.
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It's okay.
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Yeah.
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And you've been listening to Jack Marucci tell the story of how his bat company
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came to be the child of immigrants who came from Spain and Italy and who basically learned
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the lessons of life in a working class town in Western Pennsylvania, finds himself
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at Louisiana State University being the strength coach back when a guy named Nick Sabin
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was coaching their SEC powerhouse squad.
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And to well, to just get some time away, he just started making bats first for his son
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and pretty soon for a major league baseball player.
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What happens next?
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More of Jack Marucci's story here on our American stories.
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I fight every day to keep this level of success because people want it.
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Take it from you so bad.
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Listen to on purpose with Jay Chetty on the iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts
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This is Snacks from Travner's Podcast and we're bringing you the horror every week
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And we continue with our American stories
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and with the story of Jack Marucci.
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And if you're a ball player, a baseball player that is,
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the story of Marucci Bats who came on to challenge
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the Almighty Louisville slugger.
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And from a shack in his home in Louisiana.
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So he gets me down there and he goes,
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this bad is unbelievable because I use it in the cage.
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Then he introduces me to Barry Larkin.
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He's playing for the rights.
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I got a picture of Larkin holding this bat.
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He says, I tell you what,
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we're playing in Houston.
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I want you to make me one.
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I said, all right, I like you one.
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So me and my son go to Houston.
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And he says, get there early for batting practice.
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He wants you to bring the bat.
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So I'm walking in the stadium with a bat.
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I gave it to my son.
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I go here, you take it.
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He was only nine at the time.
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And I said, they won't yell at you.
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I said, I'm not going to bring a bat in the stadium.
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So he's bringing it in and we walk all the way down.
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They're taking batting practice.
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And there's people around in the stands.
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I don't know what to do.
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This is the first time I've done this.
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Actually brought a bat to the game.
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And Larkin kind of sees us.
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He gives us thumbs up.
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And everyone behind this is going, oh, that's funny.
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You recognize, they're all like a maze.
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Because they're all trying to get autographs.
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And there's people everywhere.
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Born to stand with their bales right behind the dugout.
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So the bat boy comes over.
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We hand the bat over to him.
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Everyone's going, wow.
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How's he getting him to sign that bat?
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They're all going, I was just getting to sign.
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We're trying to get all of our, they're kind of getting mad.
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So the bat boy takes it right over to Larkin.
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Larkin starts putting on the, they call him modus stick,
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the tackiness and like pine tar it up.
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And everyone starts going, wait a minute.
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He's going to hit with that bat.
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I mean, we just brought it to him.
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It's a bare bat.
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He starts taking BP with it.
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So we're watching the game.
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His second bat, he was the first guy to get a hit with it.
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Up the metal.
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That's big time.
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And to me, I said, that was it.
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I mean, this thing was in my backyard a couple days ago.
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And this guy's using a major league baseball game.
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I said, oh my god.
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I mean, this is ridiculous.
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That was probably one of the best ever.
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And it's probably one of the best moments ever.
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An Eduardo Perez, I can't say enough good things about him.
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He's one of the best human beings.
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He helped the company more than anybody.
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Because he talked to all these players and he's showing them.
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I'm sending them more bats and he's sneaking them in the game.
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He's leaving me voicemails.
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I mean, I hit a league against no mole.
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And I mean, it was just the excitement of it was like contraband.
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You know, we're sending contraband up there.
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And he goes, you're going to get a call from Mani Ramirez.
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I said, okay.
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So I get a call from Mani Ramirez.
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He goes, I need some bats for the playoff run.
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I go again, you're going to be in the playoffs.
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You can't use these bats.
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He goes, no, he wants them.
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I talked to him about it.
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He saw mine.
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I said, okay.
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So Mani calls.
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I said, well, Mani, we're about to take off.
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We're about to play Georgia.
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So we're getting on a flight.
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And I'm cutting them off.
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And I said, let me get back and I'll cut them.
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So I spent three nights making bats.
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I made three bats for him.
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And I said, maybe we'll use them for batting practice or whatever.
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I don't know.
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So I put a model number on it.
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It's called a CB-24.
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I send it up to him.
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And Kevin Balar saw him.
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He got all excited about him.
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So this is 2004.
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And I got pretty good by then making them.
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And the finish I was hand-dowing everything,
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putting a nice, man-looking shiny.
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He looked like furniture.
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That's what Eduardo President said.
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It looks like furniture.
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So fast-forward a couple of years ago,
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I saw Orlando Cabrera on that same team.
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And why he's significant.
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I'm watching the game and Carlando Cabrera is using these bats
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in this playoff game.
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So I asked him.
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I never talked to Orlando about it.
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He used manny's bats, I said.
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I said, weren't you afraid you're gonna get in trouble?
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He goes, no.
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He goes, let me tell you something.
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I hit like three 70 in that series.
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And those bats, that ball was coming off.
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He goes, I remember like it was yesterday.
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So this was two years ago I'm talking to about that 2004 playoff.
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And he goes, I remember those bats like it was yesterday.
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He goes, you know, we put the tape on the bottom,
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kind of flared out.
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The other one, he goes, I wanted a little thinner handle.
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So I got the trainer scissors and I shaved the handle down.
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Made it thinner.
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And he goes, I always wanted to know,
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I didn't know what company it was.
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I wanted to order more, but never heard of it.
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I didn't even know what this was.
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And he goes, that model number, that CB.
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I said, well, let me tell you something.
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Somebody gave me a tip about five, six months after that series.
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They were on eBay.
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I found two of them.
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I said, I have them in my office.
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I bought them back.
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I didn't tell them where I was.
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I had those two bats that you hit with in the playoffs.
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You know, you never know how they get out of the clubhouse.
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I said, you know what the CB stood for?
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He goes, no, I said, Kersbuster.
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I put CB to break the cart.
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I said, I put it to Kersbuster of the 80s.
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And that's when the Red Sox were down three games.
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They came back and they won the World Series.
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And I have those bats in my office.
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It's just one of those things.
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You just never know.
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You know, it's start getting bigger the business.
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I always wanted to order small miles because I had to cut them at the time.
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And I was getting 10 to 90s.
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I swear to God, I got bad.
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That's the first time I had Epicon Delitis.
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And then we got more automated, obviously.
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But we were trying to turn down business and people were on them.
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The next big player would be Carlos Beltran.
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Carlos Beltran and we end up having a whole met team.
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From Jose Reyes Beltran, LaDuca, you name it.
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David Wright.
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And all those people on the division saw those bats.
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Those guys were hitting well.
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He would tell everybody that these bats are on the label.
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At the time, you know, he goes, he ordered a half dozen.
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So he orders the bats.
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We ship them out and I get a phone call from him.
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Jack, you only sent me five bats.
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I ordered six.
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I said, I know.
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He was with me, you know.
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I said, do you understand that I was trying to get you the six bat.
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I cut like 10 to 12 bats.
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They weren't the quality I wanted in silence.
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He goes, that is unbelievable.
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So he goes, you don't make like batting practice bats.
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You just don't fill it.
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No, what do you mean batting practice bats?
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I'm not going to mention companies.
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It was Louisville and Rawlings basically.
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I was at, I mean, there's other companies, Cooper companies.
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That he was using says, you know, I only could get,
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he's going to use four to five bats out of the dozen.
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He felt the other ones were so far.
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That's how they did it.
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So being naive and thinking, I'm just going to give you the best quality.
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And he loved it.
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It was the right thing to do to make it look right.
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You know, the paint was going to look good.
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The detail and the stamping and the knob.
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You know, I would stamp in the player's number.
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Stamping, so all that detail was in there.
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When it was made, it looked like a born on it.
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I mean, no one had that.
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There was a mass producing bats.
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You know, these guys, that's their living.
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You know, Albert once told me, goes, you know, I love a lot of things in life.
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You know, I love my wife.
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You know, I love my bats.
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I love my kids.
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Maybe not sometimes in that order.
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But, you know, he was joking.
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Because their bats are livelihood.
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So no one was making bats like that for these guys.
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You would think they would be.
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He coined the frame every bats a gamer.
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So every bats a gamer.
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Yeah.
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So I always told people, you know, we were always chasing the quality.
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You're not going to chase the dollar.
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You're not going to chase that money.
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Chase the quality of the stuff will come.
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So that spread like wildfire.
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So the word of mouth was so powerful.
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And baseball is a close knit community.
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And that's where that really took to another level.
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We became the number one bat company.
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Probably about two and a half years ago.
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That's a little serious.
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And by a pretty large margin now.
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But, you know, you're in sport.
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And probably one of the best things that you do here all the time.
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It is a game of inches.
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And if those companies made that bat one inch longer,
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I wouldn't have probably made bats.
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Because I would have made it back for my son.
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And I would have been it.
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But one inch.
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The dictated to do something.
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And, you know, it's, it's,
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and it's, you think about this also.
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It's the last sport that has used a wooden instrument.
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Golf has gotten away from wood.
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Look, Ross.
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Tennis used to use tennis wood rack.
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It's hockey head.
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You know, so the purity of it allows somebody to do what we were able to do.
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And it's created jobs.
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Probably over close to 100 jobs.
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80 jobs for people.
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You know, just because of a woodshop class.
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So, you know, there's a lot that humbles you to look at that stuff.
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You know, you can go to an airport.
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And, you know, there was a little kid that was flying back from home,
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from Pennsylvania.
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You know, layover in Charlotte Airport and get the name on the shirt and head the bag.
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And he was sitting next to me at the, uh,
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where it wasn't.
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I said, I said, those bats aren't any good.
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What are you wearing out of your back?
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I said, Louisville's a lot better.
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He's getting old mad at me.
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And he's getting mad.
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I said, I said, I came pronounce that name.
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I said, I wouldn't use that stuff.
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I said, Louisville's much better.
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And his grand, he was there flying with his grandfathers grandfather.
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He says, no, he loves those bats.
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You know, so I found out they're coming,
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they were coming down for a baseball camp.
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Head LSU.
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You know, so,
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and so I shared a story with them.
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And I had them come over to the office and show them all the stuff.
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It was, it was pretty fun.
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And a terrific job on the production and editing by our own Monty Montgomery.
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The story of imagination, the story of problem solving,
spk_0
and the story of innovation, Jack Marucci's story.
spk_0
And Marucci Sports's story here on our American Stories.
spk_0
I'm going to show you a story of the story of the story of the story of the story of the story.
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Introducing IVF Disrupted, the Kind Body Story.
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A podcast about a company that promised to revolutionize fertility care.
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It grew like a tech startup.
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While Kind Body did help women start families,
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it also left behind a stream of disillusioned and angry patients.
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You think you're finally like in the right hands?
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You're just not.
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Listen to IVF Disrupted, the Kind Body Story.
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On the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Hey, I'm Jay Chetty, host of the on-purpose podcast.
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I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with the one, the only Cardi B.
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My marriage, I felt the love dying.
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I was crying every day.
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I felt in the deepest depression that I had ever had.
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This **** was not given to me.
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I'll work my ass off for me.
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Listen to on-purpose,
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with Jay Chetty on the iHeartRadio app,
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Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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I love that you created this system that revolves around you creating pockets of peace.
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World Mental Health Day is around the corner.
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And on my podcast, just heal with Dr. Jay.
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I dive into what it really means to care for your mind, body, and spirit.
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From breaking generational patterns to building emotional capacity.
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I'm gonna walk away feeling like, yes, I'm gonna continue my healing journey.
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Listen to Jess Hill, with Dr. Jay from the Black Effect podcast network
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on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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I'm the home-reader knows a little bit about everything and everybody.
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Everybody, let me know.
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Lauren Low-Rosa.
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You hear that, it's Gussah.
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Lauren came in high.
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I came in telling the truth.
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Every day, I'm bringing you the latest in entertainment.
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Breaking down the headlines, you can't stop talking about.
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And giving you my very unfiltered tape on the biggest stories in the industry.
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From exclusive news, and y'all know I got it, to us,
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breaking down the interviews.
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Cause y'all are my co-hosts now.
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I'm giving you the deep dives on some of the biggest moments in pop culture.
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Oh my god.
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Listen to the latest with Lauren Low-Rosa weekdays on the iHeartRadio app,
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Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
spk_0
Whenever I got through the window, I tried to pick them up in this body of stiff.
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I'm Ben Westoff, and this is The Peacemaker, a true crime podcast about a string of
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mysterious suicides at a Missouri University, and the fraternity brother tied to them all.
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Brand and gross time.
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The lawsuit says gross time was one of the last people to see each victim before their deaths.
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Was he profoundly unlucky, or was something much darker at play?
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Listen to The Peacemaker podcast, starting October 14th on the iHeartRadio app,
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Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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This is an iHeart podcast.