TekMatic Corp., a startup based out of Miami and Gainesville, is batting its way to a home run with the development of a new training baseball bat used by Major League Baseball players.
Greg Tekerman was inspired to create the bat after Raul Ibanez, a right fielder for the Kansas City Royals, said there was no tool for baseball players to improve their game.
Tekerman then decided to create the TekBat in 2012 with the help of his son, Hayden, and Ibanez.
“Raul tried several prototypes and helped us get it to what it is now,” said Hayden Tekerman, a 21-year-old UF biological engineering senior. “He sent my dad to Pennsylvania to Chandler Bats where they developed the final model.”
The design of the bat shows players their strengths and weaknesses whenever they hit the ball.
Without the correct stance or placement of hands on the bat, the flight of the ball will not be direct, sending it flying up or down instead of the straight shot baseball players should aim for.
The handle of the bat was developed to be heavier and larger than a regular bat, preventing a player from rolling their wrists which can affect the way a ball is hit.
Hayden Tekerman began to handle the business from Gainesville as soon as the bat’s design became patented and developed.
Twenty-three TekBats have been sold, according to the TekMatic Corp. website. One TekBat costs $120.
Megan Diaz, a 20-year-old UF education sophomore, played baseball at her mother’s baseball academy in Miami. She said the bat is worth the money if it helps players improve their batting averages.
“MLB players have batting coaches who are usually responsible for correcting their form and style,” she said. “It’s not always helpful, though, because it implies that the hitter is adopting their coach’s batting form instead of their own.”
Diaz said a batting coach would still be helpful, but the bat would give players a more personal training experience.
“The bat would give the player time to still develop their technique,” she said. “They’d only need a couple of adjustments for improvement.”
Tekerman and his father are now developing an app that acts as a virtual baseball coach.
If that’s successful, Tekerman said, the company will have a competitive edge against other companies that have been in the business for decades.
Ibanez has spread the message about TekMatic and the TekBat, causing interest from players such as Kyle Seager from the Seattle Mariners, who now uses it for practice.
“A lot of notable players have used the bat and liked it,” Tekerman said. “I want our company to be a top competitor in the industry.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 10/14/2014]
