Baseball isn’t a sport someone merely likes — it’s a game they love. And for someone with a stake in the game like Thomas Young of Young Bat Company, the amount of market research required to gauge that love has been minimal. People come to him.
“Baseball is everywhere and people don’t even realize,” Young said recently at the baseball bat manufacturer’s headquarters in Fletcher. “It blows my mind sometimes the number of people that walk up to me and say, ‘Man, I love baseball.’”
This strong passion for the game is a good thing for Young and his childhood friend Cody Siniard. The two recently resurrected Young Bat Company, the manufacturing business launched in 1993 by Young’s father Chris in Brevard.
The company enjoyed a 12-year-run supplying bats to Major League Baseball — players like Chipper Jones, Javier Lopez and Andruw Jones all swung a Young bat at some point during their careers before the elder Young closed up shop in 2005, though it wasn’t for lack of sales.
“Dad is an inventor, not a businessman,” said Thomas Young. “He got bored.”
Fortunately for his son and Siniard, who now serves as the company’s chief financial officer, Chris Young didn’t sell the actual business, just the equipment. So when the two childhood friends approached him this summer to talk about a relaunch, Chris Young was game, and not the least bit surprised.
‘The numbers added up’
When Chris Young sold off his equipment in 2005 there were nearly 40 baseball bat manufacturers producing bats for the Major Leagues.
“Now there’s 93 total companies that make bats, which is insane,” Thomas Young said, though he noted that only 30 manufacture bats for the pros because of restrictions instituted by Major League Baseball. “Another 63 or so are surviving on some level through retail.”
One reason Chris Young probably wasn’t surprised when his son and Siniard approached him with their plan was because the two friends had been constantly working him for information. Apparently, you can only reminisce so much about the good ol’ days of running a baseball bat company before it turns into actual research.
“I pretty much talked to him about it all the time,” Thomas Young said. “Sometimes I’d act like I was texting on my phone but I was actually typing in all the notes I could.”
Siniard added, “We manipulated him for weeks.”
With the information they attained from Chris Young, and a spreadsheet of 94 bat companies detailing everything from social media presence to what they were charging for shipping, Thomas Young and Siniard had a good idea of what they were up against, and what they would need to do to make their mark in the industry.
“There was just a lot of good memories tied to it. And when we looked at the business side of things and what it would take to get back into it, the numbers added up,” said Thomas Young, who is the company’s chief operating officer.
From forest to field
Though the industry has evolved, not much is different when it comes to how a baseball bat is produced. The process is the same as it was in 1993, Thomas Young said.
But different types of wood—varieties such as European beech, yellow birch and northern white ash—are now being used, and novelty products like tiny bats, bottle openers and mugs are growing in popularity, which Thomas Young and Siniard hope to capitalize on.
What they also aim to take advantage of is their proximity and access to the raw material they need the most: wood.
Chris Young, who has assumed the role of the company’s chief executive officer (though he claims to be merely the janitor), also works as a general contractor.
He often has loggers clearing trees from lots in the area for home projects, and those logs are delivered straight to the company’s facility in Fletcher. Outside, a pile of red and white oak logs tower over head height and will at some point become mugs, bats and bottle openers.
“We basically go from forest to field,” Thomas Young said.
The company is now supplying college and high school players with bats, and is looking to approach Major League Baseball in 2019 or 2020. Through their website, they are taking orders for customized trophy bats and other items, with Siniard taking the lead on design.
“We’re trying to stay small and agile so we can be versatile,” Thomas Young said.
They’ve also brought in friend, Andrew Freeman, as chief marketing officer and have a few employees who work the machines turning wood into bats and products to sell on their website.
Soon, they hope to begin offering private label products, like mugs for breweries and cideries, which they see as an untapped market.
But the most important market for Young Bat Company is the baseball fan and the players they root for. Thomas Young admitted that they didn’t relaunch the company to become multimillionaires. They enjoy the work. And it’s an opportunity to be creative and provide players with a quality bat.
"For the most part we've tried to replicate the classic feel of a Young Bat,” said Thomas Young. “Our goal is to get the everyday player pro-grade wood."
And for fans, they’re just trying to provide them with part of the game. Whether it’s a mother toting a carload of Little Leaguers from baseball diamond to baseball diamond every weekend, or a spouse looking for something special for their baseball-loving sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, the team at Young Bat Company wants to make sure there’s something for every fan.
“There’s a lot more people who love baseball who can’t swing a bat,” Thomas Young said. “So what can we provide to them so they can have part of the game?”
To learn more, visit youngbatcompany.com.