RANCHO CUCAMONGA: Boutique bat maker hopes to hit the big leagues

Oct. 03--Since a Rancho Cucamonga company stepped up to the plate nearly two years ago, its handcrafted bats have been hitting home runs with youth travel ball teams.

"I want to give players a professional experience with the quality of our wood," said Keith Katz, CEO and president of Game1 Sports. He and two partners launched the boutique bat-making company in November 2012, helping revenues climb another $50,000 to a total of $225,000 by the end of this year.

"It's all been word of mouth through social media," said Katz, 51, who lives in Rancho Cucamonga. Game1 sells 1,500 to 2,000 bats a year, ranging from $60 to $125 apiece.

Michael Viera, program director of the San Gabriel Valley Arsenal travel ball team, said about 80 of his players have bought and love Game1's bats.

"They're high quality and crafted exceptionally well," Viera said. "Players are very particular and once they find one they like, they stick with it."

But now Katz is eager to pitch his product to the big leagues to grow his brand. That means he'll have to pay $30,000 a year to be a Major League Baseball-approved vendor. That sum covers the $10,000 annual inspection fee and premiums for the $10 million in liability insurance bat makers must carry. To afford that, Game1 hopes to ramp up sales or find an investor.

Even the mom-and-pop-owned, not-so-heavy hitters in this highly competitive industry are trying to strengthen their grip. There are more than 30 companies licensed to make bats for major and minor league players, up from 10 in 1993.

Bats sold to the pros, retailing for $100 to $150 a pop, can mean solid gold to their makers. Multiply that by the 420 big-league hitters who run through six to 12 dozen per year and it adds up to millions of dollars every season.

Fans who pay close attention can see a barrage of branded bats on the field. In fact, Louisville Slugger, which has made more than 100 million bats since the company was formed in 1894, is no longer the undisputed king of swing.

Although Lousville Slugger's market share still is at No. 1, its chief rival, Marucci, is evening the score. College athletic trainer Jack Marucci started his business in a backyard tool shed in Louisiana in 2002.

"The smaller guys have to differentiate themselves by the quality of wood, the balance of the bar and the finishing of the product," Katz said.

After striking out again and again trying to find a first-rate bat for his eldest son, Katz resolved to give young players a great professional product at a reasonable price and an experience like none other. "Why spend $400 on a mitt and $79 on a junky bat?" he said.

Katz, a longtime salesman, and his friend, Mike Mittelstaedt, 37, of Anaheim, an adman and marketer, shared the same vision. They invested six figures to form Game1. They own 90 percent of the business after bringing in a third partner, experienced bat maker Ramssey Ochoa, 44, of Ontario.

Game1 set up its manufacturing shop in a 5,800-square-foot building at 10096 6th St. with eight employees. The process begins when pallets of billets arrive -- cylinders of ash, maple and birch from distributors in Pennsylvania and upstate New York. Game1 transforms these rolls of wood into bats per Major League Baseball's specifications. "Five or six different models make up 90 percent of our business," Katz said. "There are a few standard prototypes."

About 70 percent of Game1's sales are maple bats, Katz said. For decades, ash ruled baseball until Barry Bonds popularized maple in the latter part of his career. Because maple is generally denser than ash, now half of all major leaguers prefer this wood, believing it increases their hitting power and distance.

There's no inventory languishing at Game1 because each bat is made to order, one at a time, in fewer than 10 minutes. Ochoa uses a lathe which reads information from a template to turn the billet into a bat. Then, to harden the wood, Ochoa rubs and burnishes the grain with a cow bone and then saws off both ends of the bat.

Game1 employee Kyle Lindley, 26, of Victorville, has a lot more creative latitude. He completes the process by laser engraving, hand painting, hand dipping and hand finishing each bat.

So the public can test drive a bat before buying one or just enjoy hitting, Game1 keeps stock available at its three on-site batting cages. They're open five nights, six days a week, including Saturday and cost $20 for a half hour, $35 for an hour.

Contact the writer: [email protected], 951-368-9559

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