Marucci Sports is an American

sports equipment Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since th ...

manufacturing company based in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. It focuses on

baseball equipment Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play beginning when a player on the fielding team, called ...

, specifically producing

bats Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

, balls,

gloves A glove is a garment covering the hand, with separate sheaths or openings for each finger including the thumb. Gloves protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease; or in turn to provide a ...

batting glove Batting gloves are a component in bat-and-ball games sportswear. Typically consisting of a leather palm and back made of nylon or another synthetic fabric, the glove covers one or both hands of a batter, providing comfort, prevention of blisters ...

batting helmet A batting helmet is worn by Batter (baseball), batters in the game of baseball or softball. It is meant to protect the batter's head from errant pitches thrown by the pitcher. A batter who is "hit by pitch," due to an inadvertent wild pitch or B ...

s, and chest protectors. The company was originally founded in 2002 as the Marucci Bat Company by

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

head athletic trainer at that time, Jack Marucci The company was acquired by the investment firm Compass Diversified Holdings in 2020 and later by Fox Factory for $572 million in 2023.Here’s how the Marucci baseball bat biz went from the backyard to the big league
by Conor Grant, March 9, 2020

History

In 2002, Jack Marucci,

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. 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. In 2004, Jack brought in and partnered with Joe Lawrence and Kurt Ainsworth to capitalize and help grow and run the company As of 2013, Marucci bats were used by one-third of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

players, like

David Ortiz David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican Americans, Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1997 ...

, José Bautista,

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (, ; born December 11, 1985) is a Dominicans, Dominican professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager and former first baseman and designated hitter who is the manager of the Leones del Escogido of the Domin ...

Chase Utley Chase Cameron Utley (born December 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons, primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. He also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers. ...

Anthony Rizzo Anthony Vincent Rizzo (born August 8, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, and New York Yankees. Rizzo was selected by ...

Giancarlo Stanton Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton (born November 8, 1989), formerly known as Mike Stanton, is an American professional baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in ML ...

, and

Bryce Harper Bryce Aron Max Harper (born October 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball first baseman and right fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. One o ...

. In a relatively short period of time, Marucci took a large share of the baseball bat market from longtime industry leader

Louisville Slugger Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, with industry tracking publications validating number 1 bat in the majors since 2013 by a wide margin. While in 2006 Marucci supplied 4% of MLB players, by 2016 the company supplied 40%, with about 400-500 bats made a day.Marucci Becomes Iconic As MLB's Favorite Bat
by Hunter Atkins on Forbes, February 29, 2016 In 2020, Marucci Sports was acquired by American investment group Compass Diversified Holdings for

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

200 million. 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. In 2017, Marucci acquired rival Victus Sports, a manufacturer of bats. Marucci bats were the number one or number two most popular bats on opening day of Major League Baseball from 2019 to 2024. In 2025, Marucci and Victus bats became the official bats of Major League Baseball.

References

LSU article about Marucci Bat Company

Podcast from Louisiana Public Broadcasting
about Marucci Bat Company

External links

* {{Sports equipment brands Baseball bats Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Louisiana Companies based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana 2023 mergers and acquisitions