Inside the Louisville Slugger factory with Kiké Hernandez, Logan Forsythe

Louisville Slugger. From Babe Ruth to Ted Williams, from Roberto Clemente to Ken Griffey Jr., more of the game’s greats have swung the stick with the name that is inextricable with Major League Baseball than any other bat.

Recently, L.A. Sports Hub had a chance to sit down with Matt Bynum, head engineer, as well as Rick Redman, VP Corporate Communications for Hillerich & Bradsby Co., a.k.a. Louisville Slugger, to find out exactly how the bats are made – and in the case of Los Angeles Dodgers sparkplug Kiké Hernandez and at-bat grinder Logan Forsythe, LASH received an inside look at the red-hot flame tempering process that gives the bats that customized, unique look and feel.

Over the past 11 years, more than 25,000 flame-tempered bats have appeared in the big leagues, providing some of the most memorable swings on a major league diamond. Through a unique partnership with Bernzomatic, Louisville Slugger is able to create the special ‘burned’ look to the bats while maintaining the integrity of the wood itself, which may be northern white ash, sugar maple/rock maple, yellow birch, hickory, or red oak.

Because Major League Baseball has restrictions on bat customization (density, color, weight, barrel size, handle size, length, etc), the aesthetics are one of the only ways a player can make his personality manifest through his work tool, e.g., his bat.

“We strive to have great relationships so they can step in the box and have confidence,” says Redman, knowing that ballplayers are a notoriously fickle and superstitious bunch.

By being product innovators, studying competitors, and listening to ballplayers – such as Hernandez and Forsythe – Louisville Slugger knows that the Berzomatic process is an added element of personality in a game that is becoming less rigid, and more apt to support its player’s personal expression.

“With the success of Player’s Weekend, we see the player’s personality come out in equipment, from colors to unique graphical looks. This is a manifestation of what the players want,” Bynum said. And regarding the two companies, founded in 1876 and 1884, respectively, Bynum said, “this is a perfect marriage of two legacy companies that are still around today.”

Though Louisville Slugger was acquired by Wilson Sporting Goods in 2015, Hillerich and Bradsby (the company that operates the wood bat manufacturing process for Louisville Slugger) still operate the bat manufacturing process as it always has, with modern updates.

“We utilize 2017 technology next to 100-year-old tech (bat carts, flame tempering) as a great reminder for us of the DNA of our company,” originally started by the Hillerich family of woodworkers from Germany who had immigrated to the United States and perched atop the shores of the Ohio River.

Pete Browning, the original Louisville Slugger, broke his bat while playing for the Louisville Eclipse, and with Bud Hillerich in attendance, the industrious youth approached Browning to his father’s shop, where he hand-crafted a new bat from a piece of solid wood. Browning had three hits in his debut, and the moniker went from batter to bat, providing the impetus of a legend that would last for 133 years and counting.

The first 13 years were middling, however, until Hall of Famer Honus Wagner became the brand’s first endorser, and the company put his bats, with signatures, in stores for the first time in 1905. As the first athlete to sign an endorsement contract, this was huge for Louisville Slugger, and helped pave the way for their dominance in the bat market for over a century.

So how exactly does the process work? Kiké Hernandez hits three home runs in a National League Championship Series game and Logan Forsythe generates a .464 on-base average using these pieces of lumber, but how does something from the forest fit in the fingers of these batsmen?

The best quality trees are chosen from timber mills in upstate New York or Pennsylvania, and through relationships with independent logging companies, the bats are processed, turned into raw stock, shipped to the warehouse and down the supply chain, where the material goes to the factory to process the bats.

“There are 22-26 steps in making the bat, depending on a number of customization techniques, including the Bernzomatic flame tempering,” Redman said.

Louisville Slugger produces 60,000 bats per year for professionals, and another 1.2 million per year worldwide – and with a number that huge, “it is a constant struggle to have the right sourcing in place,” according to Bynum.

It is additionally difficult with pests such as the emerald ash borer, upsetting the ecosystem and putting prized wood supply at risk. No worries, however, as there are a variety of timber species that have different cellular structures, densities, and flexibility levels that provide the ballplayers with a veritable cornucopia of choice for their tools.

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There is no adverse effect on performance with flame tempering, as it is considered purely aesthetic and cosmetic. Louisville Slugger estimates that 13% of players utilize the Bernzomatic technique on their bats, and it comes in lightly flamed, super dark, and regular.

Hernandez, befitting his personality, uses the medium flame while Forsythe opts for the dark. Hernandez likes the medium flame since it really highlights the grain without darkening the barrel.

The bats used in the World Series are identical to their regular season bats, except for one thing – “we placed World Series logo on the product that went to the players because we are allowed to put different graphics than other manufacturers,” according to Bynum.

Next: Tony Cingrani was the missing link in game two

As the official bat of Major League Baseball and one of the strongest brands affiliated with the sport throughout its history, Louisville Slugger has special privileges. With Logan Forsythe and Kiké Hernandez swinging the flame-tempered Bernzomatic, they also have a special look. Keep an eye on the bats during the remainder of the World Series – they will be the ones that look the coolest, because they’ve been the hottest.