海角大神

At 120 feet tall, the world鈥檚 largest baseball bat leans against the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. It鈥檚 a metaphor, perhaps, for how the long-cherished pastime of baseball towers over the United States 鈥� and this city.

鈥淧eople pass by our Big Bat every day and know that major league ballplayers are swinging our bats made right here in Louisville,鈥� says Andrew Soliday, the museum鈥檚 director of marketing.

Some of the game鈥檚 greatest heroes, from Jackie Robinson to Ted Williams, have wielded Louisville Sluggers since the Hillerich & Bradsby Co. began making them in 1884. For more than a century, these wooden Excaliburs were the undisputed go-to bats for Major League Baseball players.

Up to 85% of players who use Louisville Sluggers prefer ones made from dense maple, but birch and ash are options, too, says museum tour guide Hailey Bower. The 20-step construction process, with six quality checks, is partly automated with a lathe that whittles down a wooden billet into a 37-inch-long bat in 30 seconds. But the process also includes old-school craftsmanship.

For the final steps, the bat is branded with the Louisville Slugger mark and hand-dipped in paint for a two-tone finish. Contracted players, such as power-hitter Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies, get their signatures engraved on the stem. (Fun fact: Reject bats are ground to sawdust and used as bedding at a turkey farm.)

At the end of the tour, each visitor receives a small, forearm-sized bat. It鈥檚 mercifully less hefty than the Louisville Sluggers that Babe Ruth touted for their 鈥渄riving power鈥� and 鈥減unch that brings home runs.鈥�

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