Pablo Sanchez bat inspired by Kelce brothers' conversation to get limited-edition release

What started as a casual conversation between brothers Jason and Travis Kelce on their podcast, New Heights, has evolved into a baseball bat themed around Backyard Sports character Pablo Sanchez.

The bat, which was used by Bobby Witt Jr.

in a Major League Baseball game earlier this season, is now getting a limited-edition release from Victus Sports.

Advertisement Inspired by the Kelce brothers conversation, Victus developed the Secret Weapon bat to highlight one of the main characters from the popular video game series centered around kids playing baseball, football, and basketball that dates back to 1997.

In Backyard Baseball, Pablo Sanchez stars as the games most recognizable figure for an ability to hit long home runs and play any position on the diamond.

OKAY @newheightshow @JasonKelce IM LISTENING pic.twitter.com/KJ3TwcRUqw Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) January 31, 2024 The original plan was simple: deliver one Pablo Sanchez-themed bat to Jason Kelce in Philadelphia (home of both him and Victus Sports), but when Lindsay Barnett, CEO and Founder of Playground Productions, the company behind Backyard Sports, officially announced in August that Backyard Sports was making its return , the plan pivoted.

Victus Sports connected with Barnett, and they quickly saw the potential to align the games relaunch with the bats release.

Major League Baseballs Players Weekend, where players express their love for the games youthful side, presented another opportunity, though.

After considering several players, including New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper, who both use Victus bats, they settled on having Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

, a young player known for his eye-black and shades to go with his dynamic play and Backyard-style charisma, bring the Secret Weapon to the big leagues.

Players Weekend kicked off on August 16 and Sanchezs birthday, according to Backyard lore, was just two days later, on August 18.

Witt Jr., swinging the Secret Weapon on the 16th, homered against the Cincinnati Reds , sending the bat, and Victus, into the social media spotlight.

Advertisement We knew every guy would have some sort of custom gear so we made sure to use the Secret Weapon early in the weekend and take photos on the field with the bat, said JB Greer, Founder and President of Hustle Sports Group which represents Witt Jr.

Then we seeded photos to different social media outlets for added exposure.

From there what we couldnt control was Bobbys performance, but him going 430 feet with it just added fuel to the fire.

Victus marketing coordinator, Doug Trimble, recalls that performance with their Secret Weapon bat as their most viral so far even surpassing their pencil bat, which was used by Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott and became an instant hit, selling nearly 2,000 units.

Victus has also previously partnered with the Call of Duty video game franchise and created a Phillie Phanatic-themed bat , but those were never made publicly available.

This Backyard Sports collaboration represents a first for Victus in that respect.

The Secret Weapon bat will be available on October 4, just before Backyard Baseball 1997 becomes available on October 10 for streaming on Steam, an app that allows for remote play on phones, tablets, PC, or TV, for the first time since its revival.

Victus will only produce 50 numbered bats, retailing at $430, matching the distance of Witt Jr.s home run.

The bats, designed by Victus head designer Bruce Bat King Tatem, used a stencil to illustrate the natural wood grain through the face of Pablo Sanchez.

Each bat will come in a themed box featuring characters and graphics from the Backyard Sports franchise, complete with Pablo Sanchez trading cards designed by Lou Wes, a graphic designer and illustrator with Victus Sports.

Of these, seven of the 50 cards will be special cracked ice refractors, matching Witt Jr.s uniform number.

Also in the themed box will be a collectible jumbo poster-sized version of the card.

Advertisement Wes leaned on nostalgia when recalling Backyard Sports and designing the cards, poster, and themed box.

To me, the most nostalgic cards always had solid color backgrounds and classic layouts, he said.

Those were the cards I coveted most as a kid in the 90s, so thats what I leaned into.

We went through several iterations and eventually landed on the final layout.

We utilized a home plate as the central background element to divide Pablos main colorways.

We also made sure to highlight the Bat Kings Secret Weapon bat that Bobby Witt Jr.

homered with and brought in some extra elements from the game like the Bombers logo and the Backyard Sports mouse cursor.

This release marks the first time Victus has combined a physical product with collectors items, but the company is already looking to expand these types of storytelling collaborations.

Tatem says his favorite aspect of this limited release, however, is introducing Pablo Sanchez and Backyard Baseball to a new generation.

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(Top photo: Victus Sports).

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