After retiring from playing and coaching pro ball, Mike got to enjoy the game through his son's journey. In 2022, however, after Colby saved up his own money to buy his favorite bat, after only 4 days in, when trying to remove a traditional bat weight that got stuck on the barrel, Colby's handle telescoped.

We saw the frustration of players Mike coached as well -- telescoping handles, breaking caps, breaking knobs, smashing Blast Motion sensors, bat weights stuck on bats. He got tired of seeing unnecessary damage in non-competition.

The bats themselves are great bats when doing what they were intended to do -- hit balls.

But on deck, we saw players distracted, frustrated, and not fully focusing on the game. The pitch clock added another layer. Mike worked with an engineer to innovate a better bat weight. Today, baseball has you chasing numbers (launch angle, exit velocity, and the flavor of the month). None of these can be achieved if your tools are compromised. Keep your $500 bat a weapon and not a paper weight.