Louisville Slugger 2012 TPS  Catalyst Youth Fastpitch Bat
Louisville Slugger is a truly iconic American brand, and the company -- the official bat of Major League Baseball -- has been making bats for over 125 years. Its TPS Catalyst is a youth fastpitch bat featuring lightweight construction for increased bat speed. Eye-catching purple-and-white graphics highlight the aluminum barrel, and the bat additionally boasts an end cap, high-tack synthetic grip, standard 0.875-inch handle, and -12.5 length-to-weight drop.WarrantyThis Louisville Slugger product includes a limited one-year manufacturer's warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.About Louisville SluggerThe 120-year history of Louisville Slugger baseball bats began in the hands of 17-year-old John A. "Bud" Hillerich. Bud's father, J.F. Hillerich, owned a woodworking shop in Louisville in the 1880s when Bud began working for him. 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 father'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. He told his teammates about his custom bat, 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 famed clients such as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Lou Gehrig.In the ensuing years, Louisville Slugger has sold more than 100 million bats, and 60 percent of all Major League players currently use Louisville Sluggers. The company now additionally sells fielding and batting gloves, helmets, catchers' gear, equipment bags, training aids, and accessories.