Today we’d like to introduce you to Chase Tucker.
Chase, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started Smoked Six Bats with a good friend of mine Travis McCleary, while I was still playing professional baseball in San Rafael, CA. I had a night where I broke two brand new bats and after the game, while I was assessing the damage, I thought to myself “I should just figure out how to make my own.” That is where my journey began.
When I got home after that 2015 season, I found a wood lathe and a couple of tools on craigslist and, with the help of YouTube and some random forums online, I began learning how to cut a baseball bat.
Within a month or two, Travis and I found a name, a wood supply, and a method of creating a bat. We were both working at the same place at the time, so after work, we would have just enough time to cut a bat together (took a couple of hours when we first started). I would then take some of the bats we were using to my San Diego Adult Baseball League (SDABL) games and put them to the test.
Time improved our methods, consistency, and quality. We gathered enough funds to purchase a much better lathe, and that April of 2016, I packed up our equipment and took it with me to San Rafael for one more season.
I had an agreement with the San Rafael Pacifics that I would be allowed to move my equipment into a shipping container behind the right-field wall, and I began cutting bats before batting practice, and while the visiting team was taking batting practice. Bat maker during the day, and ballplayer at night.
I got a lot of feedback that summer on my process and the quality of my bats. Learned a lot about how much I needed to improve. I decided I wanted to continue this passion for making bats and wanted to improve as much as possible.
I took over the company 100% in 2017. I moved my whole operation to Poway and really starting to do research and hone the art of making a baseball bat. New cutting techniques, measuring techniques, painting and finishing strategies, a high-quality wood supply and a lot of patience has led to where I am now.
With a full-time job, a wife, a one-year-old daughter, a yellow lab named after Khalil Greene and a cat, I am still trying my best to create a product that every San Diego ballplayer knows and uses. Taking care of the San Diego baseball community has been my goal since the beginning, and I hope to get there someday.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been smooth. The learning curve for making a baseball bat by hand on a wood lathe, with no prior woodworking experience, is not easy. Having to learn how to operate a wood lathe and how to use the cutting tools was extremely difficult. It took a lot of time to figure out, and YouTube was my only resource.
Learning the proper way to make multiple bat models freehand, and making those bat models consistently the same time after time was also extremely difficult. Knowing how to get the final product to have the correct weight and feel would have never been possible without having a lot of experience using different kinds of bat models and bat weights throughout my career.
Painting and finishing was a big learning curve as well. Using the right equipment, right mixtures, and having a consistent process was difficult to nail down. This entire process also has an impact on the final product’s weight and feel.
I am still continuing to learn and I know that there a lot more struggles to come, but that is what makes this fun. I don’t have a background in woodworking, construction, or being handy in any way, but I sure can make a high-quality baseball bat and will continue to learn how to make them even better!
Smoked Six Bats – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Smoked 6 bats offer custom hand-cut maple wood baseball bats to pro, collegiate, high school and youth players alike. If you want a professional experience unlike no other, look no further. Smoked 6 prides itself on delivering an outstanding product with a unique and personal experience. Founded by Chase Tucker and Travis McCleary, Smoked 6 Bats was created to be the company that offers the very best to every player regardless of experience level.
Located in sunny San Diego, CA, Smoked 6 is the company San Diego has been looking for. Born and raised here, I know San Diego baseball.
I am most proud of the continued growth. It has been a long road to get to where I am today with this company. Everything the company uses for the bat making process comes straight from the company’s earnings. I have had zero loans or prior money I started with.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My last professional at-bat was a walk-off home run with a Smoked 6 Bat.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.smokedsixbats.com
- Email: chasesmokedsix@gmail.com
- Instagram: Smokedsixbats
- Facebook: @SmokedSixBats
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