Marucci Sports is an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It focuses on baseball equipment, specifically producing bats, balls, gloves, batting gloves, batting helmets, and chest protectors. The company was originally founded in 2002 as the Marucci Bat Company by LSU Tigers head athletic trainer at that time, Jack Marucci [1][2] The company was acquired by the investment firm Compass Diversified Holdings in 2020 and later by Fox Factory for $572 million in 2023.[3][4]
 | |
| Formerly | The Marucci Bat Company |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Sports equipment |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | 2002 - The Marucci Bat Company - Jack Marucci
2004 - The Marucci Bat Company - Jack Marucci, Joe Lawrence & Kurt Ainsworth 2011 - Marucci Sports |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Baseball equipment |
| Owner |
|
| Website | maruccisports.com |
History
editMarucci's bats were the most used in the MLB, with more than 40% of players.
In 2002, Jack Marucci, LSU Tigers head athletic trainer at that time, built his first baseball bat in his backyard shed after he was unable to find a suitable wooden bat for his son Gino.[5][2] Jack's position as head athletic trainer at LSU at that time, provided him an opportunity to connect with former LSU baseball players who were then playing in MLB. Word of mouth traveled fast about his custom built wooden bats,and shortly thereafter he was making prototypes in his backyard shed for MLB players.[6] In 2004, Jack brought in and partnered with Joe Lawrence and Kurt Ainsworth to capitalize and help grow and run the company [7]
As of 2013, Marucci bats were used by one-third of Major League Baseball players, like David Ortiz, José Bautista, Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, and Bryce Harper.[8][9] In a relatively short period of time, Marucci took a large share of the baseball bat market from longtime industry leader Louisville Slugger, with industry tracking publications validating #1 bat in the majors since 2013 by a wide margin.[10][11]
While in 2006 Marucci supplied 4% of MLB players, by 2016 the company supplied 40%, with about 400-500 bats made a day.[9]
In 2020, Marucci Sports was acquired by American investment group Compass Diversified Holdings[12] for USD 200 million.[3]
They have made bats known as the Cat 6, Cat 7, Cat 8, Cat 8 Connect, Cat 9, Cat 9 Connect, and Cat 9 composite for USSSA baseball and BBCOR baseball. They have also made the Marucci F5, Marruci Cat, and Marucci Cat Connect for USA baseball which is mainly used in little league.
References
edit- ^ "Jack Marucci interview conducted by Jocelyn Donlon, 2014-11-28". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
- ^ a b Marucci Sports (2013-09-24). CBS This Morning Interview. Retrieved 2024-10-14 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Here’s how the Marucci baseball bat biz went from the backyard to the big league by Conor Grant, March 9, 2020
- ^ "Fox Factory Completes Acquisition of Marucci Sports, Enhancing Combined Company's Ability to Deliver Diversified Revenue and Profitable Growth". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Jack Marucci interview conducted by Jocelyn Donlon, 2014-11-28". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
- ^ "Jack Marucci interview conducted by Jocelyn Donlon, 2014-11-28". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
- ^ "Jack Marucci interview conducted by Jocelyn Donlon, 2014-11-28". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
- ^ Marucci bats got from tool shed to clubhouse one convert at a time by Joe Lemire, 10 Mar 2011
- ^ a b Marucci Becomes Iconic As MLB's Favorite Bat by Hunter Atkins on Forbes, 29 Feb 2016
- ^ "The Marucci Story told by Larry King". Marucci Sports. Marucci Sports. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ Glier, Ray (October 1, 2013). "Louisville Slugger losing grip as bat of choice". usatoday.com. Atlanta, Georgia: USA Today. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ "Compass Diversified Holdings to Acquire Baseball Equipment Company Marucci Sports". 9 March 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
