The site immediately gives off an air of strength and beauty, like a perfect swing. Against a dark background, four bats fan out across the page, next to the dramatic statement, "Turning Players Into Legends Since 1884."

The homepage's links, found in the navigation bar along the top, take visitors to pages with exciting baseball products and information. Also, the layout isn't overwhelming as on other sales-oriented sites; in fact, it is understated.

From a sales standpoint, however, the site does disappoint in that the color palettes offered for products such as the catcher’s mask cannot be applied to the image of the mask online. Visitors must simply imagine and it seems Louisville is missing an easy opportunity to aid and please its consumers.

Still, the simplicity of the selections offered seems to suggest a high quality level. That can be hard to find in this financially depressed world. Louisville doesn’t give out any vibe of a company that will churn out endless junk to serve its bottom line.

However, one opportunity that doesn’t go to waste is a button found with each product (and in its own section as well) that explains in detail the technology behind the product, whether it’s the “off-set jaw line (that) allows the forehead and chin to properly contact the padding for the ultimate anatomical fit” on the catcher’s mask or the carbon sleeve on aluminum/composite bats that “provides greater handle stiffness.” The point is, these guys aren’t fooling around and they go way out of their way to make sure you know it.

It didn’t always take a team of engineers to churn out a baseball bat. The site gives a succinct history of Hillerich & Bradsby, which has been making the bat since 1884 when 17-year-old Bud Hillerich snuck out of his dad’s woodworking shop to catch a Louisville Eclipse game. Bud got to see the team’s star, the slumping Pete Browning, break his bat that day. So he invited Browning back to the shop to make him a new bat. Browning apparently stood by the side of Hillerich to share with him precisely what he wanted. Hillerich delivered the goods: Browning had three hits the next day with his new bat.

Well, you can be sure every player that wanted to break a slump suddenly knew who to call. Even though Bud’s dad wasn’t initially into the idea, the company began to produce more bats and started to get a name for itself with all the pro ballplayers. But what really hit the ball out of the park for Slugger was the deal it made with bound-for-the-Hall-of-Fame Honus Wagner in the early 1900s. Hillerich may have been the first company in America to pay an athlete to use its product. Wagner played for the Louisville Colonels from 1897 to 1899 and then moved on to a 17-year stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

And so, as a result, Babe Ruth had a Louisville Slugger. And Ty Cobb had a Louisville Slugger. And Lou Gehrig had a Louisville Slugger. And now, still, 60 percent of all major leaguers use Louisville Sluggers when they step into the batter’s box. Derek Jeter, Prince Fielder, Evan Longoria – plenty of the fellas who swing the Louisville lumber are stacked up on one of the site’s pages (along with the impressive offensive numbers they collected with their Slugger). In fact, the Louisville Slugger has become the official bat of Major League Baseball, a fact proudly noted in the top right hand corner of every page on the site.

The site actually breaks down into three separate areas or groups of products: baseball, fast pitch, and softball. Each gives off the same aura of professionalism, technological excellence, and anticipation to grab a bat and perform like a pro. Making the latter a bit easier on the site is a feature found on most product sites these days: a very simple dealer locator.

Another area that is helpful is called “Coach’s Tips” and includes commentary on how to choose and take care of a bat as well as some other products made by the company.

One surprise on the site is that there isn’t any obvious link to the Louisville Slugger & Factory, which has about 1.2 million visitors each year. It doesn’t matter, though. The Louisville Slugger site shows off its brand in grand fashion as the understated American classic that it is and likely always will be for as long as baseball is played.