KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Phillies fans have gotten used to seeing two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper hit lots of big home runs – including the one he hit in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series in San Diego on Tuesday night.
But did you know the bats that Harper has used to hit those home runs were made in Montgomery County?
"Bryce first saw our bats. It was a white and black digital camo bat. It was just for batting practice,” said Jared Smith, the co-founder of Victus Sports in King of Prussia.
Smith, along with his friend Ryan Engroff, founded the company in 2012 as a passion project in a friend's garage in Central Pennsylvania.
It moved to South Jersey and has morphed into a 25,000-square-foot facility in King of Prussia that makes 70,000 bats by hand each year.
Each bat is specifically crafted to the exact needs of a particular hitter, much like golf clubs are tailored to golfers.
"I was working at a steel mill and always worked hard at whatever I was doing, and then got into wood bats and figured out how to do it myself without a wood-working background,” said Smith.
Their first major client was former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, and he helped put Victus on the map.
But it was that chance meeting with Harper in 2018, which led to him swinging a custom-made Victus bat during the Home Run Derby — which Harper won — that helped the business truly take off.
"He bounces a little bit, but he's swinging us 75% of the time,” Smith said. “Every at-bat in the playoffs has been with Victus."
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Victus partnered with Marucci Sports in 2017 and brings in $15 million to $20 million in sales annually. Both brands were acquired by Compass Diversified Holdings in a $200 million deal.
Harper isn't the only past MVP to swing a Victus bat. The Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts and the Houston Astros' Jose Altuve also swing Victus, as do Seattle Mariners rookie All-Star Julio Rodriguez and Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson.
Harper's teammates Alec Bohm, Rhys Hoskins, and Bryson Stott also use Victus bats.
Victus not only makes in-game bats, but they also specialize in custom bats that are painted in cool designs by in-house artist Bruce Tatem — better known as the "Bat King."
"They had gotten my number from a previous client that I had and I had an opportunity to do a project for them,” said Tatem, who has been with Victus since 2019. “They really liked it, so they called me back to do another project for them.
“And once I did that project,” he added, “they were like, 'We're not letting you leave the building.’”
Tatem's bat designs are made for the age of Instagram and TikTok — many of them resembling custom bikes and cars — where they can quickly go viral on social media.
He started doing bats after he was inspired by his son.
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"My son is 15 now, but ever since he was in T-ball, I would paint his batting helmets, and it never really dawned on me to tag his bat up," he said. “Now that I get to do it — and the players use them — it allows me to let my personality show, but it also allows them to show off their personality as well.”
A look around the shop has bats that look like Gritty, Rick & Morty as well as Call of Duty skins, and even a group of little league bats that look like crayons.
The Phillie Phanatic bat he did for Bryce in 2019 became an internet sensation.
"I'll do bats for players — we'll send them to them — and the players will reach out and be like 'You really want me to swing this?' and I'm like, ‘Swing it! Swing it! We'll make more. We'll make more!’"
And they have made plenty. For Victus, this has all turned into big business.
Smith says the goal of Victus is to help push the traditionally stogy game of baseball into a new age of swag and energy.
One bat at a time.
"The team that we've put together, they get to see the bats that they're making on TV during the playoffs,” said Smith, “and makes everything a lot cooler when the products you're making are actually impacting the game."