- Durable ash wood bat with natural finish.
- Pro-grade ash is pound for pound the strongest timber available.
- Barrel tends to flex rather than break, creating larger sweet spot.
- Randomly selected turning model from C271, P72, C243, R161, T141, and K55.
- Available in 32-, 33-, and 34-inch lengths.
Don't make the mistake of thinking all wood bats are the same. They may look similar, but the quality of the wood is
very different from one wood bat company to another. Louisville Slugger, however, sets itself apart from other bat
makers with more than 120 years of bat-making experience, outstanding turning models, and access to the best-quality
wood on the market. The MLB180 bat, for instance, is made of professional-grade ash, pound for pound the strongest
timber available. Ash offers a flexibility that isn't found in other timbers, including le, resulting in a barrel
that tends to flex rather than break. This gives you a larger, more forgiving sweet spot in terms of breakage. In
addition, ash is lighter than le, so players can choose from among several large-barrel sizes. It all adds up to a
terrific choice for casual players who love the look and feel of a genuine wood bat, or professionals who value a
high-quality bat performance.
The MLB180 also boasts a randomly selected turning model, with such possibilities as C271, P72, C243, R161, T141, and
K55.
Bat Specifications
* Wood: Ash
* Finish: Natural
* Length: 32, 33, or 34 inches
* Turning model: C271, P72, C243, R161, T141, or K55
Note: The biggest factors that influence the life of a wood bat are the quality of wood and where the ball hits your
bat. Until you gain experience hitting with wood bats, however, don't be surprised if you break a lot of bats. Unlike
with aluminum bats, when you hit a ball along the handle or at the end of a wood bat, you may break the bat rather than
get a hit. It takes a lot of practice, but with work, you will find that you break fewer bats and become a much better
hitter.
About Louisville Slugger
In many ways, the rich 120-year history of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat began in the talented hands of
17-year-old John A. "Bud" Hillerich. Bud's her, J.F. Hillerich, owned a woodworking shop in Louisville in the 1880s
when Bud began working for him. Legend has it that Bud slipped away from work one afternoon in 1884 to watch the
Louisville Eclipse, the town's major league team. After Pete Browning--the Eclipse's star who was mired in a hitting
slump--broke his bat, Bud invited him to his her's shop to make a new one. With Browning at his side giving advice,
Bud handcrafted a new bat from a long slab of wood. Browning got three hits using the bat the next day. Browning told
his teammates, which began a surge of professional ballplayers visiting the Hillerich shop.
Although J.F. Hillerich had little interest in making bats, Bud persisted, eventually registering the name Louisville
Slugger with the U.S. patent office in 1894. In the early 1900s, the company was one of the first to use a sports
endorsement as a marketing strategy, paying Hall of Famer Honus Wagner to use his name on a bat. By 1923, Louisville
Slugger was the selling more bats than any other bat maker in the country, with such famed clients as Babe Ruth, Ty
Cobb, and Lou Gehrig. In the ensuing years, the company has sold more than 100 million bats, and 60 percent of all Major
League players currently use Louisville Sluggers. The company now sells far more than bats, including fielding and
batting gloves, helmets, catchers' gear, equipment bags, training aids, and accessories.