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Less than a week into baseball season, the type of bats some players are using is a national conversation.
Jawbats, a Baldwin City-based baseball bat manufacturer, is hoping to take a swing at the big leagues and join the conversation.
“I just knew that I could make something good,” said Jacob Walters, Jawbats owner.
However, Walters had some misses along the way.
"I figured I'm gonna try and make a bat,” he said. "They were pretty terrible for a long time.”
But lately, he’s had a hit on his hands.
“I just kept working at it and got better and better. Right now, we’re probably a little over 5,000 bats a year," Walters said.
With a new facility on deck, that number may double or triple within the next few years.
“This year is a very big turning point for us with the new shop, new products that we're bringing in,” Walters said. “Hopefully, next year, getting our MLB certification.”
Jawbats' current target market is youth and college baseball players.
But, like any lifelong Royals fan, Walters wouldn’t mind seeing one of his bats in the hands of our boys in blue.
“We've spoken with Jac Caglianone over the last couple years at the College World Series. When he got drafted by the Royals, it's like, oh, man, we gotta, we gotta go after this guy at some point," Walters said.
Walters doesn’t waste any time. Jawbats can design a bat and give it to a player within a week.
Currently, the company is working on torpedo bats after the Yankees swung them into popularity over the weekend.
“It's the most I've ever been texted about something in the last two days,” Walters said.
As Jawbats swings for its dream, there’s no idea too far outside the batter's box. Walters described his company's bats as “crazy,” with designs like cotton candy, bomb pops, and color-changing paint.
“That's our M.O., you know. Especially with the crazy bats ... we've created something that's not scalable to become scalable,” Walters said.
Jawbats is packing up to move from Baldwin City to Lenexa. At the new facility, the manufacturer will have a bigger space with everything from batting cages to a production facility and storefront. Jawbats plans to open up shop this spring.
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