From Cycling To The MLB, This Hi-Tech Tape Is Helping Hitters Get A Grip
Canadian Brad Barker, general manager of Utah-based Lizard Skins, shows off some of the company’s grip tape on March 3, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Nathan Denette)
In sports it is sometimes the smallest of modifications that wind up making the the biggest of differences — a tiny wrist adjustment can change everything for a basketball player, while a slightly altered diving form could improve a swimmer’s overall performance. And, as it would seem, simply adding a particular type of tape to the handle of a baseball bat can entirely reform the way a baseball player swings the bat, and thus how he hits.
While a handle innovation might not initially seem like something that would thoroughly revamp the way baseball stars make contact, Lizard Skins has learned that is actually the case.
Founded in 1993, Lizard Skins is a company that has always made its living off of products meant to enhance the cycling experience. Those products range from chainstay guards, meant to preserve a bike’s frame, to handlebar grips that greatly increase the traction between a cyclist’s hands and his or her bike.
In 2007, when Lizard Skins started making use of DuraSoft Polymer (DSP) to increase the comfort and grip of their products, they quickly realized that their products could have an impact outside of the cycling industry — especially in the baseball industry. Lizard Skins then went about creating a tape that was “specifically for baseball,” and began altering their tech so that it “felt like a product that could work for baseball.” After debuting their tape to the baseball world at the 2012 American Baseball Coaches Association Convention, Lizard Skins fully entered the universe of America’s pastime when then-New York Mets’ catcher John Buck began the 2013 season with Lizard Skins tape wrapped around the handle of his bat.
The Lizard Skins 1.8mm grip. Image Credit: Lizard Skins
Over the 2013 season, Lizard Skins went “from one player to 55 using the product,” and ultimately decreased the thickness of their tape from 2.5mm to 0.5mm, eliminating any inconvenience players faced with the tape on their bats. Lizard Skins’ tape created a consistent grip for bats that simply didn’t exist when handles were strictly wood, and the tape also reduced the vibration in bats that could result from hits and would damage players’ hands.
The tape rapidly became so popular that “in the 2013 World Series Lizard Skins had something like seven of the nine starters on the Red Sox using the product.” Lizard Skins has since expanded their market by entering into partnerships with leading MLB bat-producer Louisville Slugger and metal bat-producer Combat. Currently, Lizard Skins is testing their new batting gloves across baseball to see if they have the same positive effect as the tape.
Casual baseball viewers don’t realize the kind of impact that products like Lizard Skins’ tape and gloves can have on the game. But for baseball players in the US and across the world (as Lizard Skins has expanded globally), the ability to tightly grip a bat knowing it won’t fly out of their hands is huge. And while that insurance doesn’t fully exist with a naked Louisville Slugger, Lizard Skins has given baseball studs the opportunity to use their favorite bats with unprecedented comfort and uniformity.
