April 22 is Earth Day, and it’s a day to remember that this Earth is the only planet we have, at least until Elon Musk figures out that whole travel-to-Mars thing. In the meantime, as we celebrate our mother-ship on this special day, let’s recognize that we can all take some action to help solve climate change and other environmental issues. Small baby steps can add up to big benefits for the planet as a whole.

Delano Bat Company ensures our supply of wood billets is responsibly sourced, and we continue to explore & utilize the most environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes we can. We pledge to be mindful of the impact that our choices and actions have on the planet, and we hope to encourage others to do the same.

For example, what can you do to up-cycle or recycle those old baseball bats you have laying around? We did a little research, and pulled together a few ideas. Some ideas are simple, some are elaborate, but all of them are opportunities to give old bats new life (and perhaps create a great conversation piece while you’re at it):

DONATE! There are wonderful organizations that outfit under-resourced communities with sports equipment to ensure an equitable youth-sports experience regardless of player means. Delano is looking to partner with one of these organizations when we launch our FZN Series of products to help customers with the donation process, but until then, here are few links:

Leveling the Playing Field

Pitch-in for Baseball & Softball

Turn Two for Youth

Sell it   Amazing how some bats retain value. Look to eBay or local marketplaces to sell your bat to a new generation of baller. The 2020 Meta still fetches a pretty penny, and one of Babe Ruth’s bats just sold at auction for $1.85MM - how’s that for value retention.

WWOD? (What would Ohtani Do?) The Japanese effort to conserve aodamo ash, traditionally used in Japan for baseball bats, led the CEO (and former baseball player) of a chopsticks manufacturer to create kattobashi, chopsticks made from old and broken bats. The name is a mashup of the Japanese words for chopstick and a baseball chant that means “get a big hit”. You may not be interested in whittling your own spork, but it is a cool way to impact the planet and save some trees.

Make it “Bedder”  Who knew there were so many ways to up-cycle bats into furniture - wood, alloy, composite - all can be used to make things like chairs, tables, lamps and even beds - whatever the imagination can dream up. Here is one of our favorites… 

Say I DO How many marriage proposals happen at the ballpark on the jumbo-tron? Why not seal the deal with wedding bands made from recycled baseball bats? "Introducing, for the first time in public, Mr. and Mrs. October"

Mugshot Some ballparks sell beer in mugs made from baseball bat barrels, so why not try it yourself? Or use parts of the bat to make a bottle opener for the pre-game tailgate, or slice up your wood bat into coasters.

Get Crafty  Etsy and Pinterest are a homerun when looking for unique crafts & creative ideas. We love this coat rack idea. Every gamer needs a good place to hang their hat(s).

Stay Scrappy Got some old aluminum bats? Look for a local scrap yard - you can get some cash and the bats will be melted down and reused, keeping them out of the landfill. That’s a walk-off win for team Earth.

Hopefully there is an idea here that sparks some others in you. Feel free to share. Any small step is a positive action you can take to help maintain our home field advantage in this fight against climate change.