Fans looked in awe as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a mammoth batting practice home run off the facing of the 500 level at Rogers Centre. He did it swinging some Canadian-made wood. “It hit the light blue standard up there,” said Ryan Lapensee, the co-owner of Backyard Bat Co., which is based out of Windsor, Ont. and Detroit, Mich. “The ball is jumping off his bat, which is super exciting.” Lapensee was down at field level prior to the Jays’ recent game against the San Francisco Giants, to personally hand Guerrero a bat to test. He was able to make the connection through Kevin Schneider, the Chief Operating Officer of Backyard Bats, who happens to be the brother of Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I met Ryan in Spring Training, and he actually hooked me up with a with a fungo (bat),” said John Schneider. “My brother asked me to reach out to Vlad if he wanted to use one. With Vlad, I think it doesn’t really matter what he’s swinging, he’s going to swing it well. He liked what he felt in his first round of his BP (batting practice).” Guerrero was hitting some hard-line drives and home runs and after his session, looked at Lapensee, and gave a thumbs up. It’s an exciting time for Backyard, which was founded in 2004 by Paul Lamantia with his father. It operated for the past 20 years in Windsor before incorporating in Michigan. Lapensee (Lasalle, Ont.) and Lamantia (Tecumseh, Ont.) played minor baseball together as well as being teammates at Wayne State University and the London Majors of the Intercounty Baseball League. “This is 20 years in the making with me and Paul making bats,” said Lapensee. “To see a superstar like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. take the swings he was taking, we’re very excited.” The duo had their first breakthrough earlier this season after getting MLB certification and attending Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training on a whim. Nick Castellanos loved their bat and even hit a homerun with it in April. “I did dream about it, but I don’t think you’d ever imagine you’d have superstars like Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper swinging it,” said Lamantia, who can now add Guerrero to their list after he used it in the opener of the Giants series Schneider also liked what he saw from Guerrero during practice. “It’s good Canadian wood, right?” said Schneider. “I’ve seen him do that quite a few times (hit home runs) but if he can do that pretty regularly with the Backyard bat, that’d be a good thing for him and a good thing for us.” Lapensee and Lamantia both had short but great careers with the London Majors, with Lapensee making it to Triple-A as a professional in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. “We had a lot of winning there with Roop (Chanderdat, Majors manager and owner) and the team with (Majors legend) Cleveland Brownlee,” said Lapensee. “It’s glad to see those guys still there and they ended up getting a couple championships. We’re really proud of them.” They attribute their bat making skills to their on-field success. “Me and Paul knowing how to hit and Paul being that master bat craftsman,” said Lapensee. “I think for the players, it resonates with them.” Now the duo is trying to compete with the major companies in the industry. It’s not easy, but getting it in the players’ hands is the first step. Then it’s up to the product to prove its worth. “I tried as a player to get to the big leagues and to see our bat there, it’s just as satisfying, if not more,” said Lapensee. “It’s so difficult for a bat maker to get this opportunity.” As the Blue Jays wrap up their homestand, they are off to Detroit for a four-game series against the Tigers. The expectation is that Jays hitting coach David Popkins is coming by their shop, and hope that a few Toronto players will get to see their bats in person. “It’d be amazing for them to come in and kind of see the process,” said Lapensee. “If players need tweaks here and there, having Paul be that master bat craftsman, he’d be able to do that on the fly for them. It’s very exciting for us.” —With files from CTV’s Bob Bellacicco
