When David Cook started Hoosier Bat Co. in Valparaiso, he faced a couple of obstacles: competition from three companies including rival heavy hitters Louisville Slugger and Rawlings and statistics showing only a quarter of new small businesses make it to 15 years.
Not only is Hoosier Bat celebrating its 25th year in business, but Cook’s wife and co-owner, Debbie Cook, pointed out that it is now the second oldest wood bat company in the country.
Louisville Slugger was bought out by Wilson Sporting Goods this year and the third company went out of business. Only Rawlings, which has been around since 1887, is older.
But a new challenge now faces the small family business that has churned out about 30,000 bats a year for baseball enthusiasts ranging from youngsters playing T-ball to retired Major League sluggers Sammy Sosa and Frank Thomas.
A former scout for the New York Yankees with a passion for tradition in baseball, David Cook has used his contacts to market his products to Major League players and the New York City Major League Baseball office through the years.
However, Debbie Cook said the company has decided to no longer sell to Major League Baseball as of this year, due to a number of new rules, all of which she said are too costly for the small company of four employees.
“We decided there are a lot of other people interested in good, quality bats that we could sell to,” she said.
They plan on moving beyond this new curveball thrown at them by focusing on college and high school players, those in youth leagues and men’s senior leagues, as well as teams in Germany, Italy, Australia and other countries, Debbie Cook said.
The Gary South Shore Railcats, whose players use wood bats, also will continue to work with Hoosier Bat, said the team’s general manager, Brian Lyter.
“Some of our players use their bats and have been probably since about the get-go,” Lyter said. “We’ve worked with Hoosier Bat for years and years.”
He said the league it belongs to has its own standard of rules and doesn’t need to follow those set by the Major League office.
Hoosier Bat also will continue to sell “award” and trophy bats, to honor the birth of a baby or an accomplishment, for fundraisers and golf outings or to just hang on a wall.
Debbie Cook said it works with the Hampshire High School baseball team in Hampshire, Ill., which participates in the Strike Out Cancer Campaign and game directed by the Jason Motte Foundation.
The team’s head coach, John Sarna, said in a prepared release that all players on the competing teams use wood bats provided by Hoosier Bat. In addition, 20 of the company’s bats, each painted a color of cancer awareness, are sold in a silent auction to raise funds for the cause.
Hoosier Bat also has a small store inside its building on North 325 East to add to its revenue source. Customers can purchase sports memorabilia, including signed baseballs and photos of baseball legends, baseball-themed jewelry and baseball mitts, among other items.
The company offers tours of its facility, where students and ball players can find employee Greg Miller transforming a 37-inch long piece of wood into a bat and his wife, Andy Miller, Debby Cook’s sister, doing shipping and working on award items.
They are the only other two employees besides the Cooks.
David Cook remains at the helm of Hoosier Bat. In addition to holding coach’s clinics with Debbie, he helps sand the unfinished bats, works with wood suppliers and helps local players find the best bat for them.
Hoosier Bat sells an all ash bat and has a patent on its Woodforce 2000 model, which is made of an ash handle, hickory in the “sweet” spot and maple on the barrel end.
Many of Hoosier Bat’s bats are made with American wood. Debbie Cook said the wood comes from the northeast portion of the country and Canada, where trees grow slower in the harsh winters, making for the preferable harder wood.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Learn more:
About Hoosier Bat Co.
Owners: David and Debbie Cook
What: Manufactures and sell custom-made wooden baseball bats and sells baseball memorabilia and baseball-themed jewelry.
Where: 312 N. 325 East, Valparaiso
Hours of operation: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Saturday by appointment. Tours are also available by appointment.
Phone: 219-531-1006
