Beyond the Jersey: The Baseball Bat Bros

Klfy.com

(KLFY) -- Many Cajun baseball fans remember John Taylor for his swing. In 2024, the Oregon native recorded 66 hits, nine home runs, and 40 RBI with Louisiana baseball to cap off his collegiate career. Now he and his brother have found success in turning their passion for baseball into a popular social media page.

After completing his college baseball career, Taylor was signed to the Milwaukee Milkmen of American Association baseball. The former Cajun spent the summer competing against baseball prospects of all levels before returning home to Oregon.

Since then, he and his brother have worked on "The Baseball Bat Bros," a social media page where they are known for their brutally honest baseball bat reviews. The concept came to be when the two were growing up in the Beaver State.

"Back in about my freshman or sophomore year of high school. My brother came over to my house one day and was like, 'Hey, dude, we got a bunch of these old bats laying around and we don't got any money.' So, he came over with the tripod. I'm like, 'What are you doing? I'm not filming my hitting workouts,'" John said.

"He's like, 'Trust me.' We would make a short little video, take three swings, and say this bat is great because we're trying to sell them. This bat is crazy; you can find it in our eBay link below, and we'd sell it for 50 bucks. We forgot about it, and we looked back, and a couple of them had like 5-6,000 views, which was so much for us at the time," he continued.

The brothers converted the Baseball Bat Shop into the Baseball Bat Bros social media page. Their videos have been a hit with the online baseball community, racking up over 25 million likes and 1 million followers on TikTok. Their content has taken them all over the country, even getting to take swings at MLB ballparks. Recently, the Baseball Bat Bros fulfilled a childhood dream of hitting at Oracle Park in San Francisco, where John launched a ball into McCovey Cove.

"That was the most special experience of my life. It was just like truly seeing the Lord work in our lives, getting us to that point. It's just been so special. It's all glory to him for that, but hitting at MLB fields is sweet," he said.

John might enjoy taking cracks at big league parks, but there is one park that will always remain special to him.

"Some of our favorite stadiums that we've hit at are like our hometown parks or the 'Tigue.' The 'Tigue' is my favorite spot to hit at, regardless of how impossible it is to hit a home run there. That's definitely my favorite spot to hit at," he said.

Although the two started this venture looking to make a quick buck, the Bat Bros want to keep their content honest for the people.

"We're anti-bat company. We don't take any money from no bat companies. We tell them the truth that their bat sucks; it sucks. If it's good, we let them know. It doesn't matter the price. We're for the people. And I mean, I think that's how it's just going to keep rolling," John said.

He went on to explain how much he misses the hospitality of the Cajun Nation and the environment Lafayette brings during baseball season. He hopes to make a stop for a Cajuns game during the 2024-2025 season.

If you would like to follow the Baseball Bat Bros on social media, you can find them on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter @baseballbatbros.