Sitting in a corner of my living room is an old, beat up piece of wood that I’ve had since I was 9 years old.
That piece of wood — a baseball bat — has made the journey from boyhood to manhood with me. It has gone to college with me and every home I’ve had along the way.
I remember the day I bought the bat at the K-Mart that used to be at the corner of North Davis Highway and Brent Lane in Pensacola. I bought it because it was a Roger Maris model, and Maris was my favorite player.
I also bought it because it was made by Hillerich and Bradsby. Yes, it was a Louisville Slugger.
The bat weighs 34 ounces — too big for any little boy. And these days not many professional players swing a bat so heavy.
I haven’t played baseball or even slow pitch softball in years, but I still grab the good wood occasionally to take a few swings at imaginary pitches that go back almost 50 years.
Louisville Slugger still produces wooden bats, but it also has been making aluminum and composite bats for more than 40 years. As far as I’m concerned, though, nothing feels as good as wood.
Earlier this week, Louisville Slugger announced it was being sold to Wilson Sporting Goods. Wilson will still make the bat in Louisville, and the name will remain the same.
Maybe it won’t matter to a generation of ball players who grow up swinging composite and aluminum bats. I doubt if kids today go to the local sporting goods or discount store looking for a model bat used by their favorite ball player.
I would like to think it was easier to connect with a player when swinging a Hank Aaron or Mickey Mantle model Louisville Slugger. Roger Maris was my guy, so I bought the Maris model bat.
Kids today will never know the joy or challenge my friends and I felt repairing a broken bat with a roll of electric tape and a nail bent just right in hopes of finishing a sandlot game on a warm summer day.
You can bet the bat we were fixing was a Louisville Slugger.
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Swinging a Louisville Slugger