1993 Climax-Scotts High School graduate Travis Wade is pictured making bats in an earlier Climax Crescent photograph.
Travis Wade scheduled to pitch for Kalamazoo Growlers
All-Stars at ‘Jacked Baseball’ game
All-Stars at ‘Jacked Baseball’ game
Climax-Scotts High School graduate Travis Wade had the opportunity to play with and against some former Major League Baseball players during a pro minor league baseball career that reached the AAA level.
However, a hobby he has enjoyed since the 1990s—making custom wood spun baseball and softball bats—has advanced to the level where one former Major League Baseball player now playing in AAA is swinging his bat, along with college, high school and other baseball players around the country.
Wade, a 1993 graduate of Climax-Scotts High School, has a new bat making opportunity after he was asked to make the bats that will be used in the highly anticipated “Jacked Baseball” game August 24 at Homer Stryker Field for both a team of celebrity influencers now known as the Northern Nut Smugglers and an all-star baseball team, the Kalamazoo Growlers All-Stars, featuring one former Major League Baseball All-Star. (See page 3 to read about the Jacked Baseball event.)
Wade, the son of Jim and Lou Wade of Climax, will also be on the Kalamazoo Growlers All-Star roster for the “Jacked Baseball” game and expects to pitch one inning
“Brian Colopy, the guy that put it all together, the Growlers owner, he mentioned something probably a couple of years ago there might be something coming up and he might need a few bats. I didn’t know what it was at that time. He called me probably six months ago or so and asked me to make a bunch of bats. I made 36 of them,” said Wade.
The C-S graduate said all of the bats have different paint schemes.
Using the Jacked Baseball game rules, the bats Wade made will have bigger barrels measuring 2 3/4 inches vs. 2 5/8 inches. Wade said the bats are hollowed out and capped.
“They’re kind of wild. He (Colopy) told me to do whatever I wanted to do. Just use these color schemes and implement the Nut Smuggler thing a little bit. So there’s some with squirrels on it, one that looks like a tree that has acorns on it, and stars and stripes for the other team,” explained Wade.
A graphic arts major at Kellogg Community College and Eastern Michigan University, Wade currently makes bats under the name of Wademadebats for college baseball players, professional minor league baseball players, high school players, travel league baseball teams, indoor hitting facilities across the country and little kids who want a custom made bat.
He’s made custom bats for Jackson Reetz, who was called up to the Majors for a period of time in 2021 with the Washington Nationals but currently plays at the AAA level in the San Francisco Giants organization.
Wade is not sanctioned by MLB or the minor leagues, however players can swing one of his custom made bats in batting practice or the off season, which he said Reetz does.
Currently residing in Papillion, Nebraska with his wife, Wade specializes in offering baseball lessons to high school and college athletes at a local training camp in Nebraska. He said as the bat making business continues to grow, he may scale back on the baseball lessons and focus on making baseball bats.
He said he’s looking forward to playing on the same team with six time MLB All-Star and two-time World Series champion Jose Canseco in the Jacked Baseball game.
“It will be cool to see him and stuff like that,” said Wade who played with the former Kalamazoo Kings team before signing with the Houston Astros’ organization.
Wade started making baseball bats on a wood lathe at his parents’ home as a hobby during a minor league baseball career that spanned 12 seasons.
The hobby continued after his career ended in 2009 and has blossomed into a small business for the C-S graduate.
Wade has the round billets, referred to as blanks, made out of ash, birch and maple, shipped to his home.
The process then starts on a wood lathe. The round pieces of lumber vary in weight, matching the customer’s preference.
After the round billet is placed on the lathe, the transformation begins.
The former Climax resident makes the bat to the specs requested by the customer. He said the process to shape the round billets into the shape of a bat, takes 20-30 minutes.
Wade uses a torch to burn in a unique look on the bat before painting the bat, followed by two layers of polyurethane.
Wade was drafted as a relief pitcher out of Eastern Michigan University by the Houston Astros. He enjoyed minor league stints in Auburn, with the Michigan Battle Cats in Battle Creek, A ball in Kissimmee, Florida, at the AA level in Round Rock, Texas and at AAA New Orleans for a period of time.
He also enjoyed coaching stints with the Trois- Rivieres Aigles of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball Independent League and in St. George, British Columbia in the Golden League where former Detroit Tiger Darrell Evans was also a coach.
For additional information on Travis’ custom made bats, go to his Instagram page, Wademadebats or email Wademade12@gmail.com.
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