Demarini

DeMarini Sports, Inc. is a manufacturer of baseball bats and other sports equipment headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The company is known for producing baseball and softball bats with innovations that provide enhanced hitting power. Ray DeMarini founded the company in Oregon in 1989, introducing a "high-tech" softball bat.cite news
title=Designer Connects With His High-Tech Softball Bat
first=William
last=McCall
date=15 September 1995
work=Los Angeles Times] Sales surpassed 10,000 bats annually in the mid-1990s.

Acquired by Wilson Sporting Goods in 2000, DeMarini continues to research, design and build bats in its Hillsboro, Oregon facility. The company is unlike many of its competitors, who produce bats abroad.cite news
title=DeMarini bat cave produces winning product
first=Drew
last=Carney
date=22 August 2007
work=KGW.com]

DeMarini’s Doublewall technology employs two independent walls to create a springboard hitting surface, extending the center of percussion along the length of the barrel. They also produce bats, such as the Vexxum, with a single wall. Other innovations include aluminum-carbon hybrid bats.cite news
title=Mercedes of baseball bats, not just because it bends.
first=Martha
last=McKay
work=The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey)
date=May 19 2005
url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-6592531_ITM]

The company's 1995 introduction of double wall bats, and the increased power they provided, drew praise and propelled the company's success, [cite news
title=Talk softball and carry a big bat: Inventor says you can hit one out of the park with his new double-walled metallic slugger
first=William
last=McCall
date=September 17, 1995
work=Associated Press
publisher=Rocky Mountain News
url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RM&p_theme=rm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4E38FE8CF0610&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM] but also prompted concern over bat safety. [cite news
title=Bats carry a wallop, Wahpeton injury raises concern over bat safety
first=Jeff
last=Kolpack
date=1999-08-12
work=The Forum
url=http://www.in-forum.com/archive/purchases/?page=view&type=archive&id=241703]

More that 150 college baseball programs use Demarini bats, including Oregon State University, the repeat College World Series Champions. The 2007 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II and III championship teams also used DeMarini equipment. A 2005 headline in a New Jersey newspaper referred to DeMarini bats as the "Mercedes of baseball bats."

Among other bat producers, DeMarini has been involved in increased marketing to Little League Baseball players that has been met with criticism. [cite news
title=Companies line up to be part of action
first=Darren
last=Rovell
work=ESPN.com
date=2003-08-19
url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1599112&type=story]

References

External links

* [http://www.demarini.com Official site]