X-Bats earns MLB suspension

[Birdbats]

Apparently, the folks who make X-Bats did something to rub MLB the wrong way. According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Derrick Goold: "A handful of Cardinals — and certainly players around baseball — are without their usual bats this spring because a bat manufacturer has been fined and (at least momentarily) suspended from use by Major League Baseball. Above each of the players lockers in the clubhouse is a shelf usually loaded with bats, but Yadier Molina, Cesar Izturis, Skip Schumaker and pitcher Ryan Franklin did not have any stacked because their company, X-Bats, is momentarily suspended for a dispute not related to the quality or makeup of the bats, a club official said. Each player has shifted to another brand of bat or is test-driving selections." I did a quick search of the Web and couldn't find more information about the suspension. Does anybody have more information? Wonder what a bat company could do to earn a fine and suspension...

[AWA85]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

Does that mean we could see a large number of X bats hit the market now, or did the players never get them yet this season? Very interesting story.

[kylehess10]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

I'm VERY glad to hear this, especially since the original post on here about their customer service

[OaklandAsFan]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

There were reps from Zinger out in Phoenix today and the A's training facility trying to get anyone who would listen to them to try their bats.

[kingjammy24]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

I'm VERY glad to hear this, especially since the original post on here about their customer service

kyle, i was well into my 20s before i started developing a good case of schadenfreude. bravo!

rudy.

[brianborsch]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

Yeah, they suck! It just shows that what goes around, comes around.

[hblakewolf]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

Instead of guessing, I asked the owners of Xbat for information on this. The following email was received:

----- Original Message ----- From: X Bats@XX
To: Howard Wolf
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 10:04 PM
Subject: Re: BATS



My son, who had just graduated from college, was working on our website (my wife and I were very occupied with my father-in-law who has esophageal cancer and moved in with us during the World Series) and thought it would be nice for the Fall Classic to show two bats showing “2007 World Series, Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies”. We never sold a single one of these bats but MLB said using their trademarked names, World Series, Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies was a violation of their intellectual property rights. They suspended us for the 2008 season, then relented and said we would only have to pay them a $50,000 penalty if we wanted to continue being approved for the Major Leagues in 2008 (we were the number two bat in baseball in 2003-2007). $50,000. was more than we made the entire 2007 year, our best year since we started. We are trying to work it out this week, but they won’t budge on the $50,000. 17 Employees at our Jamestown, NY factory are in danger of losing their livelihoods. Not a good situation for us.

When I asked if they mind if I make their email/info. public, they responded with:

It’s all fact, people need to know how they treat small business. They are protecting their licensees and there is absolutely no human element involved whatsoever. Our crafts people are sick about it. I haven’t slept in two months, getting up at 2am worrying about how we stay afloat. Very hard for us to swallow. We’ll work for them for a year to preserve all we’ve accomplished over the past 7 years in getting 305 Major Leaguers to swing our bats

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net

[kellsox]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

Wow- a pretty stiff penalty for items allegedly never sold. I hope things work out for them as I did notice an increasing amount of players using their bats. I never really agreed with the backlash toward XBats. I realize for a while there was no difference between player model and publically purchased XBats, but I never felt that the company had to cater to the collector. Same thing with revealing information about player orders. Not many industries can someone call a company and request information about others' purchases and expect to get help. I don't agree with the way that the employee from XBAts dealt with the situation in the thread posted here a while ago but I;m assuming that they were doing something right based on the amount of players bringing thier bats to the plate.
Kelly

[godwulf]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

MLB, out of control, as usual. Those guys make Microsoft look like a bunch of Quakers.

What can you expect, though, from an organization that routinely suspends pitchers for the offense of getting attacked by another player, and tolerates umpires who make up their own strike zone from game to game?

[mvandor]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

If the most they've made was under $50,000 in a year, as a businessman, I suggest they find a new line of work. T'ain't enough cheddar to make running ANY biz worth the stress - especially after 7 years.

[camarokids]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

If the most they've made was under $50,000 in a year, as a businessman, I suggest they find a new line of work. T'ain't enough cheddar to make running ANY biz worth the stress - especially after 7 years.

Just guessing , but maybe he meant 50k after expenses ??

[mvandor]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

Just guessing , but maybe he meant 50k after expenses ??

I assume that was his profit, but unless that's his profit after pulling down significant salaries for himself and other family members, forgeddaboutit. I've been running small businesses for 20+ years and you don't turn off at 5:00 p.m., it dominates your thoughts 24/7. $50 gr might go a ways in parts of Mexico but not even in Arkansas can you provide a middle class lifestyle for a family on that.

JMHO.

[suave1477]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

I am not aware of the past thread of XBATS except for the one about they should doing something with the bats to clarify between retail and player bats, but even if they did something wrong in the past I don't feel it is up to MLB to practically put a company out of a business.

On the other hand as MVANDOR said, even if 50k was the profits, that's not a great turn around after 7 years and hope they can weather this storm and become more profitable in the future.

Also if they can fix that one little thing it would be helpful to the collector, but as another member mentioned here they are not catering to us and they don't have too.

[mwbosoxfan]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

It's hard to get a good read on the strength of the X-Bats company. As pointed out, healthy family salaries or bonuses would have a great effect on the bottom line. Furthermore, depreciation expense would be at the highest proportional percentage in the first 5-7 years, unless some major future expansion occurred. A major strategy of most small business, and especially family owned businesses, is to limit income to avoid taxes. That is done by the aforementioned items and to further expense as many other items beneficial to the business and its employees. Without further details, the yearly bottom line mentioned doesn't mean much.

The question I do have is, why such a harsh penalty from MLB? Unless X-Bats has done something similar in the past, why not a warning? Especially, if no direct sales were recorded. It makes you think that there may be some other motivation for MLB to take such a hard stance. It would have to be some other monetary motivation. That seems to be the only thing that gets MLB's attention.

I think MLB has become a greed machine. Remember the Extra Innings TV deal last year between cable and the satellites? MLB basically blackmailed them by saying that they have to carry the MLB Channel on a basic tier when it becomes available or you can't carry the baseball package.

I'm not sure where the good comes out of this for the fans, and now with X-Bats, where does the good come out for the players?

[89ASMVPBats]

Re: X-Bats earns MLB suspension

A few ramblings:

It is important to remember the source of the explanation regarding the X-Bat suspension. The owner of X-Bats would be foolish to admit to some sort of wrongdoing in an email and subsequently permit said email to be posted on a public message board. There is definitely more to the story than the explanation Howard received and the devil is probably in the details (i.e. the contract).

It is likely that the $50,000 fine relates to the licensing fees paid by other bat manufacturers like Louisville Slugger. MLB has a legal obligation to protect its trademark as well as the interests of its licensed manufacturers. Otherwise MLB would run the risk of losing its intellectual property rights and putting companies who pay the licensing fees, like LS, and those who decide that they cannot afford to pay the fees, like Cooperstown Bat, at a competitive disadvantage.

Further, if there was a groundswell of support by players to get the suspension lifted it would only cost the 305 players who swing an X-Bat about $164 a piece to come up with the $50,000 fine.

Drew

eighty9asmvpbats@yahoo.com