LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Starting Opening Night, March 31, 2013, Louisville Slugger®, the Official Bat of Major League Baseball®, introduced a new look on the diamond. The 129-year-old, fifth-generation and family-owned company has evolved its logo for the first time in 33 years.

“We chose to update the logo now to reflect the reality that our company, products and culture are evolving with the times,” said John Hillerich, fifth-generation CEO of Hillerich & Bradsby Co. “We have exciting new products, dynamic relationships with the best players in the game and stronger business partnerships than ever.”

One of the most innovative new products is Louisville Slugger’s new wood bat, MLB Prime™. MLB Prime boasts the hardest hitting surface in the game, giving players confidence when they step up to the plate. This is the biggest product advancement since the introduction of cupped bats in 1972.

While Louisville Slugger is the most recognizable name in baseball, this is only the second significant change of its logo since the iconic brand made its first bat in 1884. Several minor changes were made over the decades, but the biggest change came in 1980 when the brand name “Louisville Slugger” replaced the company name “Hillerich & Bradsby” in the center of the oval.

The new “Louisville Slugger” logo provides balance between iconic elements, preserving the legendary oval and authentic stamp of approval, “Made in the U.S.A., Louisville, KY,” while introducing a secondary mark within the logo. All MLB® player bats will continue to have “Powerized” engraved next to the logo.

Rollout of the new logo started March 31 with MLB’s Opening Night game between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros on ESPN and will continue throughout the season, hitting retail stores in late October.

Louisville Slugger remains the leader in diamond sports, with over 60% of Major League® players swinging a Slugger, including Derek Jeter, Josh Hamilton and Evan Longoria in the American League and Buster Posey, Joey Votto and David Wright in the National League.

Source: Louisville Slugger