Are you experienced?

Easton Baseball facility is now open to the public




GET READY—Collin Yelich, a Westlake grad who plays in the Miami Marlins’ system, gets ready for batting practice at the Easton facility.

GET READY—Collin Yelich, a Westlake grad who plays in the Miami Marlins’ system, gets ready for batting practice at the Easton facility.

It’s a ballplayer’s paradise inside Easton Baseball’s headquarters in Thousand Oaks.

Easton, one of the country’s leading bat makers for baseball and softball, moved into the area from Van Nuys in September. Its high-tech hitting facility, dubbed the Hit Lab, is a hidden gem.

Bryan Kaye, Easton’s sales rep for Southern California, said the Hit Lab is open to the public for athletes of all ages to test a variety of the company’s bats. Players can also track distance, power and speed of the ball off the barrel with the HitTrax simulation system. The hitter’s results are instantly displayed on two screens showing where balls would land in a virtual Dodger Stadium.

“We’re helping players choose the bat that’s right for them,” Kaye said.

He said Little League, high school and professional ballplayers have started taking advantage of the nearby training center, which has two tunnel cages, two nets for tee work and even an outdoor wiffle ball field.

Moorpark High baseball head coach Scott Fullerton said his players were impressed with the hitting simulator.

“The kids love to see the technology,” Fullerton said. “With this close by, it can get kids interested in baseball for sure. Especially a first-class place like this.”

Agoura head coach Anthony Chevrier said he’s excited to see players compare hitting stats. He plans on taking his Charger team to the facility soon.

“I know we’ll be able to get out here in the next few weeks, especially with all this rain,” he said. “I think it’ll be a great tool that players, coaches and parents can utilize.”

Camarillo baseball players Andrew Lucas, Gabe Baldovino and Nick Schnopp took hacks in the Hit Lab soon after it opened in late September. Camarillo head coach John Gonzalez took the rest of the Scorpions to the Hit Lab on Feb. 8.

“They like seeing how much information they can get,” Gonzalez said. “They can swing and see angles, speed and where the ball would go on the field. That immediate feedback that you don’t always get in a tunnel cage is nice.”

First-year Thousand Oaks head coach Jack Wilson, a former major league All-Star with the Pittsburgh Pirates, got a chance to visit the old Easton headquarters in the San Fernando Valley. He said he’s happy that the facility is now only five miles away from the Lancers’ field of dreams.

“It’s great that they’re here,” Wilson said. “This is a haven for really good baseball players and kids.”

The Easton facility, a 90,000-square-foot building at 3500 Willow Lane, is just south of the 101 Freeway at Hampshire Road. It houses Easton’s corporate offices. Designs for bats, bags, jerseys and batting gloves for the 2019 season are already being mocked up in their secret design rooms. Even the Acorn was not allowed to take photos of new gear.

Easton’s wood bat factory is also on site. The company, which produces more than 50 wood bats every day, still has the measurements for bats it made for Atlanta Braves outfielder Matt Kemp and baseball players David “Big Papi” Ortiz and Sammy “Mr. Steroid” Sosa. The latter’s infamous broken corked bat was an Easton, but the alterations were made after it left the factory.

A timeline with Easton’s complete history of cutting-edge bat technology leads visitors into its lobby, which also displays personalized gloves with the names of each of its 85 employees.

Simi Valley head coach John Arisohn, who swung a green barrel Easton in high school, said he’s excited to see the impact Easton will have in the Acorn’s baseball-rich community.

Easton sponsors the Southern California Showdown, one of the biggest high school baseball tournaments in the state.

“Hopefully they can put on stuff for youth ball,” Arisohn said.

The Easton Experience

Easton Baseball’s headquarters is at 3500 Willow Lane in Thousand Oaks. The giant facility, which includes corporate offices and the Hit Lab, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free to the public by appointment only. Local youth baseball and softball teams interested in experiencing the Easton Hit Lab can email field event coordinator Brian Celsi at brian.celsi@easton.com.


THE SWEET SPOT—Luke Dykstra, a Westlake High grad, takes a swing at the Easton Baseball Hit Lab on Feb. 8 in Thousand Oaks.

THE SWEET SPOT—Luke Dykstra, a Westlake High grad, takes a swing at the Easton Baseball Hit Lab on Feb. 8 in Thousand Oaks.

TECHNOLOGY—Brian Celsi,field event coordinator for Easton, talks about the Hit Lab at the Thousand Oaks headquarters.

TECHNOLOGY—Brian Celsi,field event coordinator for Easton, talks about the Hit Lab at the Thousand Oaks headquarters.

TUBULAR—Wood for baseball bats waits to be milled at Easton’s factory in Thousand Oaks.

TUBULAR—Wood for baseball bats waits to be milled at Easton’s factory in Thousand Oaks.

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