Although it is convenient, shopping online is always a gamble, especially depending upon what you happen to be buying. For example, when purchasing sports equipment, it sometimes pays off to try the equipment before buying it. Luckily for New Tampa residents, Softball Bat Club provides a store where you can do just that.
Located in the New Tampa Professional Park off Regents Park Dr. in Pebble Creek (behind the Pilot Bank), Softball Bat Club is the brainchild of Alex Sherwood and Larry Baldwin, who are both West Meadows residents and avid softball players who decided to leave their jobs to start a business that would feel less like work and be fueled by their passion. Larry had owned a used car business on N. Nebraska Ave. in Tampa, while Alex worked in the information technology department for a financial services firm near Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
“We’re primarily a softball and baseball retailer and we’ve been in business for two years,” says Alex.
He explains that he and Larry were both playing ‘hookie’ from work one day and taking batting practice at the New Tampa Community Park, located off Commerce Park Blvd. in Tampa Palms. Larry had brought a box of new bats that he had purchased online. When they opened the box, the bats were wrapped in newspaper that was smudged in pizza sauce and the box was packed with balled-up paper and packing peanuts.
“That seemed like an odd customer service experience, especially from a national retailer,” Alex says.
Larry adds that the eight bats were all packed together into a large box and were still clanging around inside.
“It was unbelievable that someone would ship something out like this,” Larry says.
Alex says that they joked about starting a bat business themselves.
“I thought, ‘If this is the level of customer service that people are used to, we could start a bat business and blow them out of the water,” Alex explains, adding that a few weeks later, they decided to go for it, especially because the only places in the New Tampa or Wesley Chapel area to purchase softball and baseball equipment were big-box stores like Walmart or Dick’s.
Softball Bat Club stocks a wide range of both slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball bats, as well as baseball bats, softballs, tees, batting gloves, grips and bags, including brands such as Easton, Louisville Slugger, Miken, Worth and DeMarini. Softball Bat Club is a great place to find baseball and youth baseball and softball equipment, but the shop mainly focuses on adult softball bats and equipment. Most bats range in price from $199-$299. Purchases can be made in-store or on Softball Bat Club’s live-inventory website.
“New bats always offer the promise of better performance, which can help you hit the ball harder and further,” Alex says.
Softball Bat Club also provides an in-house batting cage that measures 25’ x 14’, so that potential buyers can take 5-10 swings at an actual softball and get a feel for what they’re buying before they actually purchase any bat. The batting cage even has a batting tee already set up. A slow-pitch machine also is available.
“(The cage has) been a big success,” Alex says. “We’ve had a lot of parents bring their kids in and try eight or nine bats. The player gets to decide which one feels the best and they all walk out happy. With other stores, you kind of have to guess and that doesn’t always translate into what bat works best (for that player).”
Alex and Larry hope to expand to a larger space in the New Tampa area in the future and also hope to add a softball simulator, similar to the popular the simulated driving ranges at indoor golf facilities. But, that’s not the only twist to their business.
Softball Bat Club also offers a membership program that is reminiscent of the bonus miles program offered by airlines. For every dollar you spend with Softball Bat Club, you earn a point, Alex says. The points add up, allowing customers to advance to different levels of membership that offer ascending discount percentages that can be used on various products in the store, both in person and online.
“Serious softball players can go through several bats per year,” Alex explains, adding that the bats can get expensive, depending upon the brand and performance level. The membership program allows customers to earn rewards for making regular purchases.
Looking to color-coordinate your bat for your team? Softball Bat Club also carries about 30 different bat grips from “Lizard Skins.” Larry explains that for years, bat manufacturers didn’t really offer any after-market grips for their bats and players would use hockey tape or another substitute to replace aging grips, or else they would just have to buy a new bat. However, Lizard Skins allow players to customize their grips with a variety of textures and colors.
If you’re tired of your old bat, don’t throw it away. Softball Bat Club will buy it from you! The store features a limited selection of gently used bats that have been traded in by the store’s customers.
“I got the idea from my used car business,” Larry says. “I used to take trade-in cars all the time. Why not offer that service on a smaller scale with bats?”
Rick & Mona Boulrisse are satisfied Softball Bat Club customers all the way in Rhode Island who took advantage of the company’s website.
“I wanted to thank (Alex and Larry) at Softball Bat Club for getting a bat we ordered for our daughter out so quickly that she received it early the next day, within 18 hours of placing the order,” Rick writes. “This was after a two-day ordeal with another company. You have gained a loyal customer. She got the game-winning hit in extra innings to win that day.”
Looking for a new bat or other softball or baseball equipment? Checkout SoftballBatClub.com. New members receive 10-percent off their first regularly priced purchase. Want to hold your new bat in your hands and give it a swing? The shop is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., but Alex and Larry plan to expand to evening and weekend hours in the spring. For more information, call (888) 881-BATS (2287).
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