Southern Illinois bat-maker looks to leave mark on MLB Home Run Derby
RIDGWAY, Ill. - No one really likes a deadline, but when you're Kyle Drone and two of your biggest clients need bats for the 2018 MLB Home Run Derby, you get to work. Quickly.
In the small town in deep southern Illinois, less than 12 miles from the banks of the Ohio River, is Dinger Bats. Two of their major league clients, Chicago Cubs star Kyle Schwarber and Philadelphia Phillies standout Rhys Hoskins, will be swinging Dinger bats Monday night in Washington D.C.
Drone, who owns Dinger Bats, said his team went to work earlier this week, making an additional three bats for both players. After putting on the finishing touches - including a special design - the bats were shipped in less than 24 hours.
"This is another milestone for us," Drone said. "Those two guys have been with us for the better part of four or five years now. It's nice to have guys that are loyal stick with you, and then reach a high success like they have and represent you."
Schwarber still swings his custom KS-10 bat, which weighs 31 ounces. It is 34 inches long and is made of maple from New York state. Hoskins' RH-17 bat is 34 inches long and weighs 32 ounces.
For Monday's Home Run Derby, Dinger gave their bats custom paint jobs and designs. Drone, however, prefers to remain mysterious as to what they look like, and said fans will have to wait until Monday night.
Heading into Saturday's action, Schwarber had 17 and a slash line of .246/.373/.488.
Through Friday, Hoskins had 14 home runs with a slash line of .252/.363/.460.
Other participants in the Home Run Derby are Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez, Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar, Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Max Muncy, Houston Astros infielder Alex Bregman and Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper.
The Dinger Bats corporation has grown significantly in the past few years, so much so they added a new lathe in their wood shop, as well as a fully functional paint line.
Drone's clientele list (about 90 players) includes MLB stars Mark Reynolds, Scotter Gennett, J.J. Hardy, Hunter Pence and David Freese.
He and his father, Randy, will fly to D.C. on Sunday and have a front-row seat for the Home Run Derby. He expects both Schwarber and Hoskins to put on a good show.
As the pairings work out, if both Schwarber and Hoskins make it out of the first round, they would square off against each other in the next round.
It's not the championship showdown Drone was hoping to get, but he's happy for both.
"These are both great guys and we really hope they put on a great show," he said. "It would be really nice to see one of them go up against (Bryce) Harper and beat him on his home field."
• Michael Dann covers sports for the Southern Illinois LOCAL Media News Group. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.