Since 1969, the sound of batted baseballs has echoed through the netting of the Bakersfield Batting Range out to the busy Chester Avenue.
The batting cages, located just down the street from the Kern County Museum, have become a local icon.
For 50 years, mothers and fathers have taught sons and daughters how to swing a bat at this family-owned business. It’s where Brian Eklund’s dad taught him how to hit.
“My dad brought me probably when I was about 12,” he said.
Thirty years later, he’s teaching his kids to hit at BBR.
“Elbows up!” Eklund instructed his kids through the netting while remembering his fond days learning how to hit in the same cages.
“It’s really neat it goes to say about their history here of how they bring families together,” he said.
While most businesses last by adapting, these batting cages did it by staying the same.
“The original owner, these machines weren’t purchased, they were made by him and a couple of friends, got together and designed them,” said Dan Wells, co-owner of BBR.
These days, it’s still the same machines slinging strikes.
“It’s basic ’60s and ’70s technology, and I find it works really well,” Wells said.
That nostalgia is what convinced Wells and his wife Kary to buy the place.
“I mean, we came here, you know, I came here when I played softball, and it just it still looks the same,” Kary said. “People dig it!”
People also dig that the prices haven’t changed much. When BBR first opened it was just a quarter for a round in the cages, and 50 years later it’s just one more quarter. If you want some real nostalgia, the batting cages cost the original quarter during the BBR happy hour.
“It was just. we have to keep it at a reasonable price for regular people to come and enjoy,” Dan Wells said.
That by-families-for-families business model, just like the machines, has kept BBR going for half a century.
“It’s a blessing. It really is,” Dan Wells said.
About Sky Line Net Installations:
Sky Line Net Installations Inc. is a 100% independently owned Canadian Company. Specializing in design, engineering, supply and installation of sports and industrial barrier netting systems since 1980, we are considered the leaders in innovative design and performance throughout Canada. Our expertise allows us to match the best pole and line support materials along with the best foundation designs to the finest netting materials for our customer’s requirements anywhere in Canada.
In 2002 we became affiliated with Coastal Netting Systems in California. Coastal is recognized for their excellence in engineering and manufacturing of the finest steel poles for the netting industry in North America. We have hundreds of successful pole and netting systems in place in all types of environments. With decades of design engineering and field experience we stand behind our products and performance with the best warranties available.
Contact:
Phone: (604) 328 – 1474
Email: info@skynets.ca
Web: https://www.skynets.ca