Local business hits a homerun

By Christian Bouchard

A local man has spun his passion for baseball into a successful idea for his family run business.

Back-Yard Bat Co. in Tecumseh supplies local baseball teams and players with their own personal bats. Paul LaMantia created the company 12 years ago in his back yard shed after his grandfather first taught him how to spin a bat on a lathe. The company has since made an impact in the local baseball community, which is being continued with the help of his father.

“It started with my dad,” said John LaMantia, Paul’s father. LaMantia said his father taught his son Paul when he was 16 how to spin a bat. “My my dad was actually dying in the hospital that year so Paul made a bat, brought it to the hospital and everyone signed it. That’s where it started. The passion was infused into Back-Yard Bat Co. by my son Paul. It was his idea, his passion and his love.”

As the love for the game filled Paul’s heart, he decided to make bats in the summer to make enough money to pay for baseball. Paul still uses his own bats when he plays for the Tecumseh Thunder Seniors as well as during his time at Wayne State University.

In a single summer, Paul made 100 bats, all spun by himself on his lathe. An impressive number for one man considering there are only 3,000 bats manufactured each day by the world’s leading baseball bat manufacturer, Louisville Slugger.

According to Paul’s father, the Windsor Stars organization were a huge part of the success as they purchased several of Paul’s bats. This would eventually get Back-Yard Bats Co. off the ground and give Paul his first true opportunity.

With the quick success of the local business, Paul could no longer meet the demand.

“The old days on a lathe would be an hour,” said John LaMantia. “Paul would spin them around 30 minutes, sand them and then finally finish them in about an hour. They can do them over at Louisville about one bat per 30 seconds. So there’s no competing with a one man band.”

With the price of wood is on the rise and making bats on the lathe is no longer economically feasible, the company now imports from its manufacturer in raw format. However, the family ran company still applies the labels, paints and ultimately have a burning passion for their product.

Eric Cunningham is a baseball player for the back-to-back-to-back defending Ontario Colleges Athletic Association championship baseball team, St.Clair Saints. Cunningham holds the best lifetime batting average in a Saints uniform and still uses his Back-Yard bat.

“I always wanted to support local businesses,” said Cunningham. “That family is dedicated to the sport. They love the game of baseball. They’re huge fans from every level, from T-ball to the pros. Just knowing they are going to put that kind of dedication into the bat you’re going to use is awesome.”

Paul’s hard work and dedication eventually paid off. Kevin Mailloux, a former MLB player for the Seattle Mariners, as well as Ryan LaPansee with the Arizona Diamondbacks, used the bats at the professional level.

“Seeing everyone use the bats now makes me think of how good the module actually is,” said Cunningham. “It’s the creation and love put into the weapon itself that make them so special.”