The Story
The inspirational story of how the culmination of many life events and effort led to the invention of the most revolutionary baseball sporting good item since pine tar
Where it All Began
Hi. I’m Ryan Vaughn. Inventor, creator, and founder of 9 Strap Technology. I grew up in what I’d call a small baseball town: Yucaipa, CA. Multiple Big Leaguers have come out of Yucaipa, namely: Taijuan Walker, Matt Davidson, Mark Teahen, Corky Miller, Matt Carson, Scott Snodgress, and others. Like these players, I also attended Yucaipa High School and was fortunate enough to play for two CIF champion teams in 1993 and 1994. Although my personal best playing days were as an All-Star back in Little League, it was a real privilege to be a part of the success at the high school level as well. I credit the hard working and dedicated moms, dads, and coaches for the amazing baseball talent that has come out of Yucaipa. In addition to my own dad Gary Vaughn, there are countless other coaches from the 80’s and 90’s who helped put Yucaipa on the map. Steve Hudson, Ron White, Steve Mierzwik, Mike Teahen, Jim Cole, Leon Hickey, and Jeff Stout... just to name a few. Because of coaches like these, baseball has always been a huge part of my life.
Best Job Ever
Now, with my playing days well behind me, I would not only consider myself a spectator, but also an avid baseball aficionado. Whenever I’m able to break away from my day to day commitments of being a husband, father, or pool contractor, you can most likely find me in the stands at a baseball game. I love the game... I am one who looks for the peculiar things on the diamond. I'm not the stat junky, or the name dropper so much. I tend to gravitate more towards finding the quirky things of the game. I largely credit this to the multiple years I was able to experience in the press box at Angel Stadium (1999, 2001, and 2002), sitting alongside Spanish Radio Color Commentator Jose Tolentino. Jose always had his eyes peeled, looking for the most interesting details and facts to share with his audience. It was an awesome experience, to say the least. Some examples of what I might observe are: Why outfielders often take a small hop or jump just as they are about to catch a routine fly ball on the run. Or, why a ball is considered “fair” when striking the “foul” pole. Should it not be called the fair pole? Or, how the defensive shift will typically affect a lefty more than a right handed batter. I'm the baseball fan that wonders why the stats show 4.2 innings if a pitcher was pulled after 2 outs in the 5th inning (as opposed to 4.67). And furthermore, if that 4.2 number is actually used for the ERA calculation and other statistical purposes. Or, if they use the true number of 4.67 or 4 and 2/3. This would make a huge difference, and is a good example of something I observe and think about.
The Long Ball Culture
I’m also the fan that can get a bit frustrated at certain things within the current culture of the game of baseball. For example, witnessing any ballgame that extended beyond the 10th inning during the era of starting every extra inning with a runner on 2nd is frustrating. I’m a firm believer that every Big Leaguer should know how to drop a bunt. If you show up early enough to a ballgame, you’ll notice that they all practice it daily during BP. So why can’t they move the runner over to 3rd with a sac bunt? Then, with only one out, why couldn’t they drop another bunt for the RBI and potential walk-off squeeze play (home team)? Do they not want to win? I came to my own conclusion that most players would rather continue to play more and more innings late into the night (even if it meant losing the game), simply to try and win the game with a walk-off HR. Assuming my theory is correct, why is this? Why would these players rather lose a game than win with small ball? Well, it's quite simple. It's because chicks dig the long ball. And by "chicks", I mean Major League Baseball.
Think about it. MLB is no longer recruiting ballplayers. They are recruiting bomb droppers. Power hitters. Fence swingers. It’s so obvious! In fact, if the league was stacked with ballplayers, they would have never needed to ban the shift. Ballplayers would have hit the ball oppo all day long, and teams wouldn’t have had any success with the shift in place. Ultimately MLB did ban the shift because these power hitters either couldn’t (or simply didn’t want) to change their swing in order to win ball games. Why? Again. It all leads back to the well-known phrase in baseball: “Chicks dig the long ball.”
This baseball strategy ultimately resulted in me inventing the 9 Strap. I began noticing that with the new “long ball culture" we have recently been witnessing in baseball, a couple of things were happening. First off, many more batters were being hit in the face than in years past. Check out all of the face shields these days. It’s not because pitchers are intentionally throwing at hitters. Believe me... They're certainly not throwing any more chin music today than they did back in the 80's and 90's. And, it’s certainly not because pitchers are throwing harder than before. So, if none of these are factors, then what is it?
Well, I think it's simple. I blame the long ball culture. Hear me out. More and more players, in attempting to hit a bomb every single pitch, are now using the high leg kick. Therein lies the issue. With a huge leg kick, the batter is fully committed. Once that ball is in motion, there’s no turning back. It’s impossible for the high leg kick hitters to decommit and turn inward to take the pitch off the backside of their shoulder, just as they were taught in Little League. Hence, the Justin Turners of the game are having to pay hospital visits to repair facial bones and get stitched up. Not good. Unfortunately, until MLB reverts back to recruiting ballplayers over HR derby specialists, we will continue to see the high leg kicks and balls to the face. The way it’s looking, the high leg kick will remain in place, and I’m confident the face shields will live on for many years to come.
With the long ball culture in full effect, there’s also been an uptick in shoulder injuries. I’m not referring to pitchers’ shoulders. I’m referring to hitters'. Fernando Tatis Jr. missed several games due to a labrum injury. Corbin Carroll missed nearly an entire season after tearing his labrum in 2021. This isn’t a simple walk it off type injury. We’re talking major surgery, physical therapy, and months of missed action and recovery. Why is this happening? I believe it is because the long ball culture is pushing more and more players to move away from the basic fundamentals that many of us learned from tee ball on up. Keeping both hands on the bat throughout the entire swing is one of those fundamentals, and can be difficult or nearly impossible to achieve with these big homerun swings. The extreme torque and force of their swing is causing the hitter to let go of the bat with their upper hand. Then, due to the bat having not slowed down enough through the swing, the opposite shoulder takes on the stress all by itself. The domino effect then goes into motion. Shoulders are injured, games are missed, revenue is lost, teams miss the playoffs, players are forced to learn a new field position, and so on.
The Incident
On July 6, 2023, I watched Corbin Carroll finish his swing with one arm, nearly tearing his labrum for the second time in his very young professional career. I felt terrible for the guy. At the time, he was widely being discussed as the clear front runner for Rookie of the Year, he was also in the running for NL MVP, and he had just recently been announced as a starter for the MLB “Summer Classic” that would be taking place just one week later. I feared that his high performance season had just come to a screeching halt. Again, I felt terrible and wanted to do something. Fortunately, after undergoing an MRI scan, the doctors found that there was no visible damage this go around for Corbin. It was described as what they call a stinger, and the All-Star was able to be back in the lineup the very next day. Regardless, my peculiar baseball mind immediately began thinking: “There’s got to be an answer to prevent this type of injury!” The concept of 9 Strap was now in motion!
The Invention
I immediately began thinking about how to develop a device that would force the upper hand to stay attached to the bat throughout the entire swing. Every single idea I came up with always seemed to involve either attaching the bat to the upper hand, or cuffing the two hands together... neither of which would actually work in a game. Nothing seemed to be practical or make sense. Then, I started to think a little more outside the box. I thought, “Wait a minute. Unless the bat completely slips out of the batter’s hands all together (which is extremely rare), the bottom hand always stays attached to the bat throughout the entire swing. So I thought: “If that's the case, then how can I get the sure/stable bottom hand to help the unstable upper hand stay connected without actually handcuffing the two hands together?” The lightbulb came on. I thought: “If there was some sort of a strap hanging down from the upper hand, and the bottom hand could clinch or grasp onto that strap while also gripping the bat, then the upper hand won’t be able to let go of the bat until the bottom hand allows it to do so!” Wow!!! It was literally a “Shark Tank moment” where I thought “I cannot believe nobody has thought of this before!” It was so exciting! It kept me up that night, and multiple nights over the next several days. I would constantly think of new design tweaks and improvements. After feeling really confident about the idea and overall design, the new challenge became how to bring it to market.
The Right Partner
Just two weeks after coming up with the idea, the name of a former customer popped into my head. Chad Hoelker. I own a small franchise of California Pools in Orange County, CA. I had built Chad’s pool just a year or so prior, and I was scrolling through recent pictures of pools my daughter had taken for my business. As I scrolled through pictures of Chad’s backyard, it dawned on me... I remembered that Chad was once involved in the sporting goods industry. I remembered him working for Easton, as well as him being a partner in a retail team sports business called Westside Team Sports. The last product I remembered Chad had been working with was a mouth guard that helped prevent football players from getting concussions (Shock Doctor). I also knew that he had been coaching for several years, and was currently coaching Varsity baseball at a local high school in San Juan Capistrano. I immediatley knew he was the guy! So, on a late Friday night (7/21/23), I sent out a text to Chad that read, "Chad- Do you still have any connections with the sports apparel and gear industry? If so, I have an idea that I think you might be interested in. When can you meet up?" Chad quickly replied "I do. I'm around all weekend. Actually think this may be one of the very few weekends I have NOTHING." So, we solidified our meeting time for the following morning at 9:45 AM.
The Original Prototype
Now that the meeting was set, I knew that I needed some sort of makeshift prototype to demonstrate to Chad the following morning. So, I immediately ran downstairs and approached my amazingly talented wife Alyson. I knew she could help. She had sewing experience from her college years where she worked at a ski and snowboard factory, making repairs on clothing, tents, sleeping bags, etc. The problem was, Alyson and our youngest son had just sat down to begin watching a movie (Ride Along, starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart). After another long and busy day of being mommy, she was a bit exhausted, and was looking forward to finally being able to sit and relax on a Friday night. Unfortunately, this couldn’t wait. After a little convincing, she pressed pause on the remote to give me a hand. Using only a pair of Rawlings batting gloves from my old softball days, and some scrap ribbon from the gift wrapping drawer, we put together our very first 9 Strap prototype.
The Meeting
The next morning, at 9:45 AM on Saturday July 22nd 2023, Chad and I met to discuss this simple, yet very effective idea. Chad arrived at my pool business office, and I began sharing my story... beginning with growing up in Yucaipa, to watching Corbin Carroll take that swing on July 6th. I then pulled out the prototype and demonstrated the product. Chad watched my hands, saw my swing, and asked me to go through the motion again. He then asked to try it himself. After gripping the bat, and moving his hands around a bit, Chad removed the gloves and strap, set the bat on the table and began asking me a few questions. He asked, “You just came up with this?” I said yes. Then he said “No, seriously... My pool guy just randomly came up with this?” Again, I gave an affirmative nod. Then Chad asked me, “And you haven't shared this with anyone else?" Now I realized that I was onto something even bigger than previously imagined. I said, “Well, my wife helped me make it, so she knows. But nobody else has seen or heard of this.” Chad then got a little more serious and said, “Ryan, this product will definitely help a few players here and there with injury prevention. But... you have no idea what else this thing does!” Not only did Chad see this as a great way to keep ballplayers from being injured, he saw something much bigger. He saw this product as a clear way to improve people’s swings. He was amazed at the simplicity and immediate effectiveness. Chad said that in all the years he’s been playing and coaching baseball, he’s never seen anything like this. He was extremely confident that this product would help any batter that uses it. In fact, Chad said out of the 5 steps taught in swinging a baseball bat, this simple device automatically takes care of 4 of them. In addition to preventing injury, this product helps keep the hands from rolling over, and it produces a tighter swinging radius by keeping the hands together and reducing the Moment of Inertia. It accelerates bat speed and exit velocity. Having been a top recruit out of El Toro High School, a former player for the University of Miami, a former professional ballplayer, and a current high school Varsity coach, Chad knew this product was going to be a home run!
A Stronger Strap
After seeing that Chad shared the same excitement about this product as I did, and after finding out about the added benefits to this new product, the wheels began turning much faster in my head. I woke up the next morning thinking about what product could replace the gift wrapping ribbon prototype. Boom! It hit me. I ran downstairs and went into the garage to look for some tie-down straps. I found a red one and a camouflage one. I then drove to a local arts and crafts store to buy some thin pieces of leather. That day, my wife and I designed the second prototype. It turned out great... and obviously much stronger that the original!
The Name
Before starting a company, we had to come up with a name. Chad and I would text each other over the next few days, sometimes into the late hours of the night. Of course we thought of Bat Strap, and other potential names such as Grip & Rip, Tite Grip, Swing Right, Two Hands, Full Swing, Grip Right, etc. On Tuesday night (7/25), we landed on the final name. I was having dinner with my wife at a local fish taco restaurant. I was doing my best to stay engaged in whatever conversation my wife and I were having, but this name thing was consuming my thoughts. I knew I had to come up with something unique and special. I started thinking about the shape the strap makes. It hit me! I realized that the strap (amongst other things) can make the shape of a 9. I also knew that the number 9 was very unique to baseball... 9 innings in the game, 9 batters in the lineup, and 9 players on the field. I did it! I knew that was going to be the name. I shared it with my wife, and she agreed. It was perfect. I quickly texted Chad and told him that I came up with the perfect name, but that he’d have to wait until I got home so that I could draw it for him. I knew that writing the name next to the actual strap would make so much more sense as opposed to trying to explain over the phone. So, I got home, wrote the name “9 Strap” on a scratch piece of paper, set a couple prototypes next to it, snapped a picture, and texted it over to him. Chad quickly replied “I like that! Perfect.”
The Logo
With the name in place, it was time to start working on a logo. Because of its unique shape and recognizability around the world, I knew that I wanted to somehow incorporate the shape of a home plate. I wasn’t quite sure, so I started off by sketching a few things on my cellphone until I was able to get back to a computer. Once I got to my computer, I was better able to nail down the look and vision I was going for. I found the fonts I was looking for (Lubalin Graph font for the 9 inside the plate, Agency FB font for the wording), tweaked the 9 to run the strap parallel with the angled part of the plate, and came up with something pretty cool. Eventually I’d meet up with my good buddy and extremely talented artist Joey Jorgensen to help me fine tune things. We squished the wording 9 Strap, we cleaned up home plate, rounded the edges a bit, and perfected the 9. We even came up with multiple variations of the logo, and were now ready for launch.
Stars Continue to Align
With the name and logo both solidified, it was now time to begin working on the business. I immediately reached out to my good friend Mark Blake. Why? Because Mark is a patent defense attorney. I asked him who he would recommend to file a patent. He told me he had just the guy for the job... one of the top patent attorneys in California. Turns out, his contact was Jarom Kesler... who also happened to be another former customer of mine in the pool building industry. I had built him and his family a small pool in Irvine just 2-3 years prior. Wow! What are the chances?! First Chad, my new business partner was a former customer of mine. Now my patent attorney Jarom as well? Incredible. My next step was to find a good business attorney. I reached out to Kurt Varricchio, a business attorney who had previously helped me with a few things over the past couple of years at my pool company. I called to explain that I needed help with an NDA, and that I’d eventually need help setting up an operating agreement and new LLC. On the call, he apologized and asked me to hang on because he couldn’t hear me very well, and was going to move to a quieter area to better communicate with me. As he was walking to a quieter space, I could hear some fairly loud background noise. He eventually got back on the phone and said, “Sorry, I’m at a baseball game in Rancho Cucamonga seeing one of my guys.” I asked him what he meant by “one of his guys”. He said: “Oh, I didn’t tell you? I’m not only a business attorney, I’m also a baseball player agent and currently have 27 players between the minors and big leagues.” I was in absolute shock. Literally, I was at a loss of words. My business attorney is also a baseball player agent!?!? What are the chances??? This can’t be real. Another coincidence? No way! This was pure destiny. Things were happening at such a rapid pace, and seeming to fall right into place for it not to be.
Coming up with this idea was awesome, but the way things continued to flow and simply work out was true confirmation to me that this was exactly what I was supposed to be doing in my life. In fact, I’d strongly argue that I was being prepared throughout my life for this exact moment, and these last few years of pool building were to simply put me in contact with the right people in order to make it happen. Don’t believe me? Well, I’ll give you one more. Late one night I was thinking about how fun it will be to be in front of players, explaining the benefits of the 9 Strap. I vaguely remembered that another former pool customer of mine (who also happens to be a future Hall of Famer) once held a batting camp for youth. While lying in bed, restless and not able to sleep (which was quite common at this time), I decided to do a quick online search. I typed in “Albert Pujols batting camp” on my cell phone and hit search. A link popped up and it mentioned a baseball camp that he held for the youth in St. Louis in August of 2022. I thought “That’s great and all, but what about this year in 2023?” I couldn’t find anything. It was really strange. Side note: There was one in 2023?” I couldn’t find anything. It was really strange. Side note: There was one lingering concern that Chad and my brother Scottie continued to bring up. The concern was that MLB might one day deem the 9 Strap as a mechanism for hitters to gain an edge or clear advantage in the game. I personally didn’t think it would be an issue because it does the two things that MLB loves most; The 9 Strap reduces the risk of injury, and helps produce more action and runs. But it certainly continued to be something on my mind. Well, as I struggled to find anything for an Albert Pujols batting camp in 2023, a follow up question popped up on the search engine: What is Albert Pujols doing now? So, I clicked on it, and an article dated June 5, 2023 (just 1 month before I came up with this invention) read: ...legend Albert Pujols accepts the position as Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. What?!?! Once again, I thought, “Are you kidding me?!?! This cannot be possible!!!” Well, it is possible, and it’s 100% real. My lingering concern of MLB not allowing this new product immediately went away. I knew that I could easily line up a sit down meeting with Albert, and that he would see how this product is something the MLB would accept and embrace. Why? Because at the end of the day, no matter what kind of edge or advantage this product gives the hitter, the 9 Strap reduces the risk of injury for both the batter (dangerous one arm finish swing) and the catcher (dangerous backswing to the head), and ultimately prolongs players’ careers.
These multiple incidents of the stars aligning reaffirmed to me that all of this was in no way by mere happenstance. From loving and playing baseball at an early age in life, to working in the Angels press box with the talented and baseball savvy Jose Tolentino, to meeting and working with multiple baseball contacts while building swimming pools, and so on... This was surely meant to be. I am forever grateful for the many people that I have worked with, or that I have come into contact with to make all of this possible. It’s a true blessing, and I am eternally grateful.
The Launch
After demonstrating the 9 Strap with numerous ballplayers of all ages, builds, and skill levels, and receiving nothing but positive feedback, we built the website, connected with several key folks within the industry (coaches, medical professionals, retired & current professional ballplayers, MLB personnel, etc.), sourced product and manufacturers, and launched our new company in less than 90 days from that initial meeting in July. If you’d like to reduce your risk of injury by finishing with a two handed swing every time, and if you’d like to drastically improve your swing, visit www.9strap.com today and purchase your very own 9 Strap.
Our patent pending technology covers multiple sports and various designs, including glove integrated 9 Strap Technology. Stay tuned!
Ryan Vaughn