'We're extremely excited:' Windsor, Ont., company lands licence for baseball bats to be used in big leagues

A baseball bat company founded in Windsor, Ont., has hit a major milestone: Its handcraft bats are now licensed to be used by elite players in the big leagues.

Founded by Windsorite Paul LaMantia along with his father John, Backyard incorporated in Michigan in 2024. LaMantia, along with his lifelong best friend and teammate Ryan LaPensee are now business partners at the helm of the company. 

Both LaMantia and LaPensee played for the Windsor Selects baseball team growing up.

LaMantia said he developed a love for baseball because of his grandfather Joe,  a Second World War veteran who was also the inspiration behind his decision to get into handcrafting bats.

LISTEN: Baseball bats made in Windsor gain big league certification

Windsor Morning11:11Baseball bats made in Windsor gain big league certification

Have you heard of the Windsor-born company called backyard bats? The custom baseball equipment company is now swinging its way into the big leagues. Their bats are now big league certified. The visionaries behind the company dropped by our studio for a chat with guest host Peter Duck. 

"Just before his passing at the age of 80, [he] had the dream to want to hand-turn a baseball bat on a wood lathe," LaMantia said. 

"We thought he was crazy, but my dad obliged and purchased him a lathe. He got out in his backyard shed, which he was very good with woodworking, and turned a very primitive early model, which would have been the first Backyard bat." 

LaMantia said he learned how to hand turn bats from his grandfather before his death.

"When he was on his deathbed passing in the hospital … I took it upon myself at 16 to grab that wood lathe, bring it back to my parents' backyard shed … and I spun my first bat there, which ended up becoming a labour of love for all the hospital visitors to sign that bat," he said.

"[It] was kind of a going away to my grandpa, kind of a moment of strength and unity for our family."

There's a lot of standards we have to go through and quality checks to make sure that everything meets spec.- Ryan LaPensee, Backyard co-owner

As he made more bats, LaMantia said his father also stepped in to help, while LaPensee — who later became his business partner — was his first client. LaPensee has been a baseball player with several teams, including the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"I spun the bats, sanded the bats, but I needed someone to finish them. So, as I was having my own playing career, John was at home finishing all the bats and getting them to my clients and helping me pay my way through college," LaMantia said.

LaMantia said initially, it would take him about 45 minutes to hand turn a bat, and another 10 minutes of sanding before his father undertook the finishing process.

That final process was "painstakingly long," according to John LaMantia, and the bats weren't as nice as they are today.

But he said his son and LaPensee have "taken it to the next level. These bats are very nice today."

"In the early days it was challenging at times. He was chasing a dream, he was playing ball … but overall we worked well together," John LaMantia said. "We've grown the business together, but really this is his venture now — he and Ryan have taken it to a new level."

New milestone 'could be huge' for Backyard: LaMantia 

LaPensee said they are now making bats at their Michigan branch using a CNC machine.

"There's a lot of standards we have to go through and quality checks to make sure that everything meets spec," LaPensee.

Meanwhile, LaMantia said they're "extremely excited" to know that elite players will be using Backyard bats this season. While it's a competitive field and they're still a "small fish in a big pond," LaMantia says the milestone is huge.