57°
During his six years in professional baseball, Pete Tucci Jr. tinkered constantly with his bats. If there was something off on it, I would go to the hardware store and make it like I wanted, said Tucci, a first-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996.
A hand injury shortened his career and cost him an opportunity to play Major League Baseball. Now, instead of swinging bats, he makes them. He wanted to stay involved in the game, and cutting, sanding, shaping and painting bats is a perfect outlet for him. He makes them out of the garage in his Norwalk home.
All of Tuccis bats are wood. He purchases material from a lumber mill in Forestville, N.Y. and trims the bat to dimensions with a lathe. Each bat takes about 45 minutes to produce. Tuccis bats are ash and maple, and he makes them for a variety of leagues, from young ball players up to professionals. In one part of the bat-making process, he rubs the bat with bone from a cow to compress the wood and close the pores. This hardens the bat, making it less susceptible to breaking. I want to be the company I would want to deal with if I was playing, Tucci said.
Tucci nearly made it to the majors. He starred at Norwalk High School and Providence College before getting drafted by Toronto. He hit .318 with 30 home runs and drove in 112 runs while playing for two minor league teams in 1998, but injured his left hand the following season and lost significant power in his swing. He retired after the 2001 season with 84 home runs and 384 RBIs in six seasons of minor league ball.
Tucci started his bat-making business last fall. In the long-term, hed like to make bats for major leaguers. Exorbitant licensing fees and insurance costs preclude that step for now, but he has clients in college baseball, minor leagues and little leagues.
Tucci plays softball in Norwalk and works with a partner in the heating and air conditioning business. If all goes well, however, his bat company will take flight like the home runs he hit during his playing days. For more information, contact Pete at 1-888-810-2287 or pete@tlbats.com.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.
