Gearing Up: Equipment companies ready for post-lockout rush

CHICAGO (AP) — Travis Copley, the vice president of sales and marketing for Old Hickory Bats, has two sons, ages 18 and 14. After his wife recently posted on social media about their oldest son pitching, she started hearing from some of Travis' big league clients.

“They're like, ‘Hey, he looks really good. Hope everything is well,’" said Copley, whose company makes bats for Mike Trout and other stars. “I'm like ‘You’re getting more love from the big league guys than I am right now.'”

That's about to change.

The end of baseball's 99-day lockout means it's time for players across the sport to take a closer look at their supply of bats and gloves for the grind of a 162-game season. The first spring training games are scheduled for next week, and opening day is April 7.

While baseball's leading equipment companies have been in a bit of a holding pattern with their major leaguers because of the labor strife, they have been preparing to meet the anticipated rush whenever the lockout ended.

Now, that time has arrived.

“The lockout, to be honest with you, really hasn’t slowed us down,” said Ben Chase, the CEO of Chandler Bats. “In fact, in a lot of ways, I think it’s just been a natural progression of our efforts to improve our communication. We've been producing pro orders all winter long regardless of where they came from.”

Before COVID-19, reps from equipment companies were a frequent sight in major league clubhouses — especially during spring training. They would use the time to check in with clients, and see if they wanted to make any modifications. It also provided an opportunity to show other ballplayers what they are doing with their products.

But the pandemic pushed the reps out of clubhouses, forcing them to adjust how they work with their highest profile...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Gearing-Up-Equipment-companies-ready-for-16995056.php