SSK Debuts UV Color-Changing Bat

Japanese baseball equipment maker SSK reveals a color-changing bat series that uses new paint to change bat color based on sunlight.

Over a year in research and development, the UV Series color-changing wood bats still use professional-grade maple and comes in the SSK JB9, SSK RC22 and SSK Thor’s Hammer youth and adult models.

The bat appears as a traditional natural-wood bat, but changes to color when brought into the sunlight. The idea has batters taking a bat out of the dugout and having it change colors from natural to blue on the way to home plate. The bat then returns to the natural wood color when in the shade.

“SSK has a history of innovation, in particular with our gloves through dimple sensor technology and our hybrid back design, so we began to look at how we can innovate in the wood bat space,” says Nell Kucich, vice president of marketing for SSK. “The UV Series bat line is the culmination of over a year of work and we’re excited to bring something new and never done before to the baseball field.”

Launching June 27 for $150, SSK plans to offer 50 bats.

SSK revealed the bat first to its pro players, Javier Baez, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. “Watching their excitement about these bats during spring training when it was a prototype was a great indicator of the success we’re looking to achieve with this product that gives all ballplayers a way to showcase their own personality,” Kucich says.

Tatis Jr., when he first saw the change to blue, laughed as the bat started changing colors and said, “Oh my, this is crazy.”

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.