Q&A: Marucci's Co-Founder, Kurt Ainsworth

In 2004, former Major Leaguer Kurt Ainsworth helped launch Marucci, which is the most popular bat in MLB and provides Big Leaguers more bats than any other company. From humble beginnings from his River Bend backyard to one of the world's most renowned baseball bat companies, Marucci is well established in the baseball bat industry.

Kurt Ainsworth, Co-Founder and CEO of Marucci, answers questions for JustBats about his growing company and what's next.

How did Marucci start?

After suffering an elbow injury in 2004, I spent the offseason recovering under the care of Jack Marucci, head athletic trainer at LSU. Another former Big Leaguer and current LSU football player, Joe Lawrence, was also getting treatment from Jack when I was there. Jack would always talk about his hobby of making bats in his backyard, and he’d bring bats into the training room for us to see and try out.

Joe and I both agreed that we hadn’t seen bats this high in quality and performance in a Big League clubhouse and were looking for our next move after our sports careers. After a while, we finally convinced Jack to turn his hobby into a viable business and told him he could stay at LSU and that we would run the business.

>>> Honor The Game, Swing With Marucci <<<

With no sales reps or marketing budget, we had to rely on our personal clubhouse connections to get bats into players’ hands. Meanwhile, Jack, Joe, and I were still operating out of a backyard shed, cutting, sanding, and painting bats ourselves.

Word-of- mouth spread around the league, bats got passed from player to player, and today, Marucci is the No.1 bat in the Big Leagues.

What-- in your opinion-- led to Marucci becoming the #1 bat in MLB?

I think the quality of our wood supply is second-to- none. We control our supply, and we’re able to deliver a consistent product every time. Big Leaguers demand a hard, durable bat that’s tailored to their individual needs. That dedication to quality, understanding of players’ needs, and the ability to deliver a consistent product sets us apart.

What enhancements to bats, gloves, or other products is Marucci working on for future versions?

Right now, we’re preparing to release our 2017 line of aluminum bats, as well as updates to current fielding gloves, batting gloves, apparel, and accessories. We engineer the same dedication to quality and understanding of players’ needs into every product on the Marucci line.

What's your favorite part of working with JustBats?

We’ve always had a great relationship with JustBats, in large part because we share similar values. We both strive for excellence in our service to the customer, and we both genuinely care about the future of the game.

What's something about Marucci bats that not a lot of people may know?

I think a lot people may not realize that we are the #1 used bat in Major League Baseball (we have double the number of players than the next company, which is an iconic brand over 100 years old).

People also may not know that Marucci is majority owned by current and former MLB players. (JustBats note: a list that includes Nolan Ryan, Albert Pujols, Andrew McCutchen, and Jose Bautista)

Why should aspiring ballplayers use Marucci?

Marucci is committed to providing the tools that players want and need to be successful. Our company is founded, owned, and operated by Big Leaguers, and our Player Advisory Board guides and inspires product designs, as well as tests and approves products before they’re released to the public.

JustBats thanks Kurt Ainsworth for taking the time to answer questions about Marucci. If you have any questions about Marucci bats, contact the pros at JustBats at 866-321-2287 .