Brett Laxton has always been a hitter at heart.

Since his first home run at age 9, Laxton envisioned a career in the batter’s box, not necessarily on the pitcher’s mound. However, his pitching prowess earned him a four-year spot in LSU’s starting pitching rotation from 1993-96. In that time, Laxton was named National Freshman of the Year, won two national championships, and set the record for most strikeouts in a national championship game with 16 in 1993. He was also selected by Oakland in the 1996 draft, making it to the Big Leagues in 1999.

Fifteen years later, Laxton is back to his original baseball passion: hitting. As the lead bat craftsman here at Marucci, Laxton has made over 100,000 wood bats for Big Leaguers all the way to T-ball beginners. Though he pitched on some of baseball’s biggest stages, Laxton says he prefers to be behind-the-scenes, honoring the game by “keeping the integrity of the American pastime, and producing a quality product that people are proud to put in their hands.”

Watch Laxton describe his personal journey through the game, as well as what goes into making the No.1 bat in baseball.

Special thanks to Kronos, Inc. and Parallex Productions for making this video as part of their 1in100million series. See more at 1in100million.com.