Let's Talk About Bats, Baby!

Duggs is once again headed back to the Volunteer State. This weekend, I'll be participating in a 48 hour film festival in Nashville. Sure, I could have driven straight from New Jersey and been in Nashville in about 14 hours, but that's not a real road trip. A real road trip has awesome stops where you can get out, stretch your legs, and take a tour of the Louisville Slugger Museum, which is exactly what I did! I arrived in Louisville early Thursday morning in good shape with no stomach concerns whatsoever. This was somewhat surprising considering what I had for dinner the night before. On Wednesday, I stopped in Cincinnati to try the famous/infamous Skyline Chili.

Many people told me it's great. Many people told me it's terrible. However, one thing everyone agreed on is that Skyline Chili is not a food you eat without consequence. Even DUDE Wipes reached out to offer their support.

Thankfully, the DUDE Wipes were not necessary this time around. Maybe it's because I didn't get onions. Maybe it's because my body is accustomed to this type of food. I don't see myself ordering Skyline Chili again, so we may never know! The important thing is I survived and was able to continue the road trip without issue.

The Louisville Slugger Museum is located in Downtown Louisville and you really can't miss it.

(HEY JACKSONVILLE! IF YOU'RE GOING TO SPEND $18 MILLION ON A STATUE THE SIZE OF A BUILDING, AT LEAST MAKE IT SOMETHING COOL LIKE THIS!)

Inside the building is a museum going over the history of baseball bats, and the actual factory where Louisville Slugger bats are made. For only $16, you can take a tour through the factory and see the entire process of how they select the trees to be harvested, how the bats are formed, stained, stamped and more. It was a fun and educational tour for any baseball fan to see. One of the tour guides, Travis, recognized me and invited me into the Bat Vault. Here, I got to hold the model bats of some of the greatest players like Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente. The Clemente bat, I'm told, is the only one of its kind. It was molded just before his accident and they don't allow any players to use it.

And of course, the bat museum has a batting cage! (I'm no Babe Ruth, but I smashed a few balls)

Like every great museum, the Louisville Slugger Museum has a gift shop. This isn't just a place to buy keychains and magnets, although they do have those. Here, you can craft your very own custom Louisville Slugger. My new friends, The Ryan's, made me this one featuring "Coach Duggs" in script and "Barstool Sports" with the Barstool logo. I can't wait to display it on the wall of Duggs Den!

After learning all about bats in Louisville, I had to go see The Louisville Bats (Triple-A affiliate of the Reds). I got to throw out the first pitch. It was just a bit outside, but Angel Hernandez would have called it a strike. Although the Bats trailed 2-0 after the third, the Bats bats (see what I did there!) came alive in the 4th and the Bats would go on to win 13-3.

Thank you for having me Louisville. I will definitely be back, but for now, I'm on the road again!