Hot Bats Displayed for Tomorrow's Home Run Kings at Sox/Cubs Tilt

The hottest baseball bats at Wrigley Field did not leave town with former Cubs Anthony Rizzo to the Yankees, Kris Bryant to the Giants or Javier Baez to the Mets.

ProXR handles, crafted on some of baseball’s premium bats, are drawing crowds before every home game at the new Sports Performance Innovations pop-up store located in the Gallagher Way concourse at Wrigley Field. Baseball and softball players of all levels are stepping in the cage at SPI to examine how ProXR increases their bat speed.

ProXR is an innovative handle technology designed to allow hitters to reach their maximum swing speed by diminishing the compression caused by a conventional round knob. By eliminating what has been dubbed the “speed bump effect” caused by the conventional knob, players swinging the ProXR have seen increases in their exit velocity between 3 to 8 mph, which can be the difference between a single and a double or a pop fly and a home run.

“The products we’re showcasing in Wrigley Field are precisely what athletes around the world are searching for — innovations that improve performance and increase power,” said Ron Saslow, founder and managing partner of Thirty-5 Capital, the Chicago-based visionary hosting the pop-up showroom.

“Players just love getting a grip on the baseball and softball bats to take a few cuts and see what their exit velocity looks like. People get excited to try the technology that is taking the big leagues by storm and being used by some of their favorite players,” said Saslow.

Lines formed as early as 10 a.m. on the Friday of the Cubs previous home stand and will be filled with White Sox and Cub fans alike this weekend for a chance to swing baseball’s hottest technology. The pop-up store opens three hours before every home game and is open until first pitch.

ProXR LLC is a St. Louis startup focused on sports-handle technology. At this year’s Major League All-Star extravaganza, New York Mets power hitter Pete Alonso swung his personal PA20 ProXR ICON model from Dove Tail Bats where he rocketed 74 home runs in his three rounds to secure back-to-back Home Run Derby championships. Alonso joined Ken Griffey Jr. and Yoenis Cespedes as the only players to win consecutive titles.

A tale of the tape will be held in 2022 with a very confident Alonso carrying a ProXR to the plate.

Grady Phelan, the founder and chief innovation officer of ProXR leads the direction of the ProXR’s product development, with the help of Saslow and his team at Thirty-5 Capital, who are in charge of branding and marketing.

ProXR has been developing ergonomic grip technology for baseball and other sports since 2006. Saslow’s keen business sense and instincts drew him to ProXR “because of its disruptive technology” and ability to create products that can be used globally for multiple sports.

In the batter’s box, the company has already undertaken plans to expand to the aluminum bat and youth bat markets. Phelan estimates a potential market size of 60 million users and said the innovative upstart is “on a path to do for hands what Nike did for feet.”

The Chicago Cubs host the Chicago White Sox in day games Friday and Saturday and a night game Sunday.

For more information on ProXR, visit ProXR Power Alley at Gallagher Way outside Wrigley Field or visit ProXR.com.