Connery: In hard market, Tater Bats hits hardest
From Harrison Connery at the Waterbury Republican on March 28, 2019, with mention of SABR members Vince Guerreri and David Scrivines:
When Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Starling Marte steps into the batter’s box today, he’ll be wielding a bat designed and made by a local father and son.
Four years after Freddie Vargas and Freddie Vargas Jr. founded Tater Bats in their shed, as many as 12 Major League Baseball players will be using their bats, including Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco and Washington Nationals catcher Yan Gomes.
Vargas Jr. and his father have leveraged their love of the game, help from friends, family and the expertise they’ve acquired from their day jobs to create a company competing in an industry dominated by corporate behemoths like Louisville Slugger and Rawlings, and unwritten rules designed to keep outsiders away.
Read the full article here (subscription required): https://www.rep-am.com/local/news-local/2019/03/27/in-hard-market-waterburys-tater-bats-hit-hardest/
- Related link: Read “The Bats … They Keep Changing!” by Steven Bratkovich (SABR Baseball Research Journal)
Originally published: March 28, 2019. Last Updated: March 28, 2019.