Slide into Kentucky to Visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
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updated June 2024
Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory
Located in the heart of Louisville, Kentucky, the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory offers the historical journey of the craftmanship of baseball’s most iconic brand. You will be greeted with the world’s largest bat, towering 120-foot tall outside the museum. Inside you will hear a narrative of America’s pastime and then visit the inside of the factory where you see the work of art transforming into baseball bats ending with a souvenir bat to take home.
You will find excitement as you visit the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in Kentucky. Whether you are a baseball fanatic or just enjoy learning about the history of the Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat, you will enjoy this iconic immersive experience.
Inside you will find a gift shop and an area where you can view the memorial wall for FREE. If you would like to tour the museum and factory you do have to pay an admission fee.
Address: 800 West Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky
Cost: Ticket prices were $23 for adults, $15 for kids aged 6-12, and 5 and under are free. Arrive 15 minutes before your tour starts. (2024 prices)
Hours: They are open Monday - Saturday 9am - 5pm and Sunday from 10am - 4pm. Advance reservations are highly recommended. Museum tour takes about 60-90 minutes. Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Day.
History of Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory
According to their website, in 1856, J Frederick Hillerich started a woodworking shop in Louisville, KY. His oldest son John Andrew “Bud” Hillerich became an apprentice in his father’s shop in 1880. Bud enjoyed baseball and made several of his own baseball bats and some for his team mates as well. One afternoon Bud decided to skip work and head to a local major league ball game. While there he saw Pete Browning break his bat during the game and offered to make him a new bat. Pete’s nickname was “the Louisville Slugger”. Bud pushed to start making bats at his father’s business and although his father did not agree at first, he allowed him to make some bats and he was able to improve his bat making business. The baseball making business grew and became a registered trademark as Louisville Slugger in 1894 and Bud became a partner in his father’s business in 1897. In 1916, Frank Bradsby joined the business due to his strength in sales and marketing. The business was then named Hillerich & Bradsby Co.
Museum and Factory tour
The factory tour starts with an informational video showing the forests where they choose the trees for the bats they make. You will then enter the factory through a guided tour of the bat making process. Bats are made daily so you will get to see the multiple step process of how they are made during your tour. I had no idea the number of steps it takes to make a bat. Starting from a tree, to trimming it into a bat shape, to sanding, then staining or painting and branding it. What an amazing process! This is about a 30-minute tour.
One exciting thing is at the end of the tour each person received a free mini bat.
This area above showed bats that were waiting to be made for specific MLB players.
Interesting facts
The factory makes around 3,000 bats daily and 1.8 million bats a year
They complete 12,000 factory tours a year
Wax Museum Gallery
At the wax museum you can take your picture with life size players from the past. You will find wax figures from Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, Ted Williams, Ken Griffey Jr, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, and Hank Aaron. You will get to see artifacts from past MLB legends on display and hold official bats from past players as shown below.
Also enjoy seeing Hank Aaron’s 700th homerun bat and Babe Ruth’s Notch bat on display at the museum.
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This area allowed you to choose a bat from a famous player and hold it for a picture.
Gift Shop
Inside you will find a gift shop where you can purchase Louisville Slugger merchandise. There are t-shirts, hats, personalized bats, coffee mugs, cups, pins, books, Christmas ornaments, toys, keychains and more. You can order a personalized baseball bat for any baseball fan where they will engrave your child’s name as a souvenir.
Other Ways to Explore the Factory
Batting cage
Explore bats hit from famous MLB players
Bat vault that displays over 3,000 original bats designed from some of the most famous players
History exhibits of the museum
All-Star Experience - A Behind the Scenes Bonanza for a minimum of 2 people. Cost is $399 per person.
Bats and Barrels - enjoy a factory tour, explore the bat vault, and end with a 45-minute custom bourbon experience where you can blend your own bourbon recipe. Must be 21 years of age. $50 per person.
This museum is definitely worth a visit for any baseball fan! Seeing how the bats are made from the specific trees to the final product is so cool. I recommend you stop by and visit the museum and take a picture with the big, huge bat outside the museum.
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Mussel & Burger Bar
Before we left Louisville we stopped and ate at Mussel & Burger bar. This restaurant was so good and one of my favorite places to eat. The service, although short staffed, was wonderful and they tried their best to make sure we were happy with our service.
My burger with the fried egg and maple syrup aioli was $16.99 which included sweet potato fries which were nice and crispy. This meal was so so good!!! Their combination of food and sauce options were so good and unique. This is not the best picture of our food but trust me, it was so good!! They open at 11am daily so you can make it a baseball and burger sort of day.
Address: 113 South Seventh St, Louisville, Kentucky
This restaurant is a 4-minute walk from the museum.
Hours: Monday to Thursday 11am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 11am to 10pm, Sunday 11am to 8pm
Food: Burgers, salads, mussels, sandwiches, desserts, and kids’ menu
Instagram: mussel_burger bar
Hotel and accommodations
Looking for a place to stay while in the area? Check out booking.com or VRBO for more details.
Check out The Grady Hotel with luxury decor and top reviews for a spectacular night’s stay.
Homewood Suites by Hilton Louisville Downtown with breakfast included, this is the perfect hotel stay for families
What is your favorite way to experience baseball? Museum, baseball game or other? Comment below.
Enjoy the journey,
Meet the author: Jennifer
I am a girl who loves to travel with my family and enjoys sharing expert family travel advice. I am a content creator and influencer on Instagram with years of travel experience and provide readers with advice, tips, and details on adventurous family travel and tips on saving money while boondocking or traveling across the US. You can usually find me dreaming up our next epic vacation or outside exploring natural landscapes. I am a fearless roadtripper who isn’t afraid to explore new and off the path adventures.
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