SHIRLEY MILLS, Maine - In 2007, Paul Lancisi was making cabinets and furniture in rural Shirley Mills, Maine. Today, he is making professional-grade baseball bats for Major League Baseball.

 

The 58-year-old former MLB hopeful Lancisi decided to try his hand at bats after his son broke a bat that should have been pro quality, writes Forbes. So in 2007, Lancisi took some extra maple from the inventory of his woodworking business, Dove Tail Furniture, and fashioned it into baseball bats for his son and his son's teammates. 

 

Recognizing his own skill, Lancisi decided to get serious, and by 2014, was making 3,500 bats a year using capital from Dove Tail. He is set to make 35,000 bats in 2019 alone - generating $10 million in revenue. Lancisi and his wife Theresa even sold their cabinetry and furniture business, focusing exclusively on bats.

 

“The growth has been incredible,” Lancisi told Forbes. “We’re working a lot of hours, buying more machinery, getting more log supply.”

 

More than 75 MLB players are currently using Dove Tail bats - all fashioned from New England white ash, Canadian yellow birch, and New England white rock maple. Dove Tail is one of 37 certified bat makers in the MLB. Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso of the New York Mets uses Dove Tail bats exclusively, says Lancisi. Alonso set the record for home runs - 53 - for a rookie this year. Two of Lancisi's bats are in the Hall of Fame.

 

"At Dove Tail Bat our wood is grown locally and is hand selected weekly from log yards from the highest grade available," writes Dove Tail on its website. "We inspect each log for the highest quality. Next it is hand split and sawn where again each piece is inspected and only the straightest grain wood is kept for our bats. All of this happens at a Dove Tail Bat log mill where we maintain the highest level of control."

 

Lancisi employs his son and 11 other employees in Maine, as well as three in Arizona. In Maine, Lancisi is working on a new production facility with an indoor hitting area. Lancisi says customers, particularly minor league players, can test out his bats before purchasing.