Baseball fans love nothing more than a good homerun record, which New York Yankees star Aaron Judge just knocked out of the park. When someone steps up to the plate and launches one deep into the stands, the crowd goes wild. What’s even more impressive is when a player breaks an existing record. But have you ever wondered what goes into making a bat that can hit a ball so far? The answer is simple: the material. In this post, we’ll explore the history of some of baseball’s biggest home run records and the hardwood bats that were used to set them.

Babe Ruth’s Record-Setting Season

In 1927, Babe Ruth hit a total of 60 home runs, which remained an MLB record for 34 years. That season, Ruth used a Hickory bat. It was an R43 model that was 35 and a half inches long and weighed 38 and a half ounces.

View Gutchess Lumber Hickory hardwood characteristics, grades, and more.

Roger Maris Breaks Ruth’s Record

In 1961, Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s record by hitting 61 home runs in a single season. Maris used a 37-inch, 40-ounce piece of Sugar Maple to achieve his feat. Sugar Maple is actually harder than Ash, which is why it’s often used for building floors and furniture instead of bats. Nevertheless, Maris’ bat was up to the task and helped him make history.

 

Remember where you were when #AaronJudge made history. 6️⃣2️⃣ #AllRise pic.twitter.com/w4kbDJf5ZC

— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2022

 

Aaron Judge Breaks Maris’ Record

On October 4, 2022, Judge broke the Major League Baseball home run record with a smashing 62 home runs. Judge previously tied Roger Maris’ 61 run record. To accomplish these feats, Judge swung a 35-inch, 33-ounce Maple bat that is made by Chandler Bats.

View Gutchess Lumber Maple hardwood characteristics, grades, and more.

As you can see, hardwood bats have played a big role in Major League Baseball history. Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and Aaron Judge all used hardwood bats to achieve their historic feats. Today, companies craft high-quality hardwood bats for professional and amateur players alike. If you’re looking for the hardwood that makes history, be sure to check out our selection of hardwood lumber products.

Gutchess Lumber Co. Inc., one of the nation’s leading suppliers of hardwood lumber, is excited to announce the expansion of its sales team with the addition of Patrick Semeraro. Patrick began his career with Gutchess Lumber stacking lumber and has worked his way up through the ranks, most recently joining the global kiln-dried lumber sales team as a salesperson. In his new role, Patrick will be responsible for developing relationships with new and existing customers. Here is a glimpse into Patrick’s career since joining Gutchess Lumber:

I began working here at Gutchess in our Cortland facility back in July of 2020, where I started off in the yard stacking lumber. After a short time of stacking, I began to learn how to operate various machines such as the sorter, tilt hoist, and trim saws. While learning the ins and outs of how the yard operates, I was attending our grading classes after work. By January of 2021, I had completed the course and was working on the dryline as a lumber inspector. I continued this for over a year, and in April of 2022, I was hired into my current position as a salesperson with the company.

My entire experience here with Gutchess has been amazing. From being hired to working in the yard, to being in sales, everyone along the way has been more than willing to help me learn and grow with the company. Without their help and knowledge, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I am looking forward to my new role with the company and am excited for what the future may hold.

Gutchess Lumber is committed to providing its customers with the best possible products and services. With the addition of Patrick Semeraro to its sales team, the company is well-positioned to continue delivering on that commitment. Welcome to the sales team, Patrick. To find your territory’s sales representative, please use Gutchess Lumber’s interactive map here.

Hardwood production is an interesting process to witness. It’s even more interesting when you get to see it in person. A video can only do so much justice. That’s why Gutchess Lumber Co. Inc is happy to open its doors to students of all ages to see a glimpse of how hardwood is produced. Gutchess Lumber previously welcomed Agriculture Science and Natural Resources students, part of McGraw Central School District’s AIR CTE pathway program, to see what goes on in our Cortland, New York hardwood sawmill.

A Message from McGraw Central School District

The Agriculture Science and Natural Resources classes, both a part of the new AIR CTE pathway, went to Gutchess Lumber on December 17th for a tour of their facilities. We were shown how logs are processed- from being segregated by species out in the yard, being sawed-graded-bundled, to being dried in their kilns. Chris Barber spoke to the students about employment opportunities and what it takes to do the job- the 3 D’s: dependability, durability, and drive. In addition, he explained the whole process of how a log becomes a board and all the technical aspects of each stage of that process. Despite the cold, students and staff enjoyed the tour and learned quite a bit about a world-renowned company right here in our backyard.

The Hardwood Production Process

The first step in hardwood production is harvesting trees. The Gutchess Lumber Natural Resources Department ensures that the mill has a continuous flow of hardwood logs by working with our own land and individual landowners across New York and Pennsylvania to develop responsible forestry management programs. Once the trees are cut down, they are transported to our sawmills where they are then debarked and cut into lumber. The lumber goes through a kiln-drying process where it is dried to a specific moisture content over the course of several weeks or sometimes months. After the lumber is dried, it is ready to be shipped out and used for various purposes.

Common Uses for Hardwood Lumber

Hardwood lumber can be used for a variety of projects, both big and small. Some of the most common uses that Gutchess hardwood goes into making include:

• Furniture making
• Cabinetry
• Flooring
• Molding and trim
• Wood components
• Caskets
• Stair treads

Why Learn About the Hardwood Manufacturing Process?

It’s always beneficial to learn about how things are produced, especially when it’s something that we interact with on a daily basis like hardwood. Seeing the process in person can also be very eye-opening and might even inspire students to pursue a career in this field. There are several career paths that students get introduced to, including forestry and natural resources, material handling, mechanics, electricity, and more. Who knows, maybe one day these students will be the ones running our yard.

Overall, it was great having students from AIR CTE pathway visit our facility and learn about the hardwood production process. If you are a local business or school and are interested in seeing how hardwood is produced or just want to learn more about the industry in general, we highly encourage you to reach out to us to talk about what we can do to help continue learning outside of the workplace or classroom.

Gutchess Lumber Co. Inc is committed to being environmentally responsible and celebrating Environmental Awareness Month is one way we like to show it. This year, we want to focus on raising awareness of responsible forestry practices that help us preserve our forests for future generations.

Forests play a vital role in the health of our planet and its inhabitants. They provide critical habitats for countless species of plants and animals, help regulate our climate, and purify the air we breathe. Responsible forestry practices are essential to maintaining these benefits and ensuring that our forests remain healthy and thriving.

Unfortunately, not all forestry practices are equally beneficial to the environment. In fact, some practices can actually do more harm than good. For example, clear-cutting—the practice of removing all trees from an area—can damage delicate ecosystems and lead to soil erosion and flooding. Unsustainable logging practices can also deplete forests of their valuable timber resources, making it difficult for them to recover.

On the other hand, sustainable forestry practices, which we practice at Gutchess Lumber, such as selective harvesting can help maintain the health of our forests while still providing the hardwood products that the world needs. Selective harvesting allows foresters to remove only certain trees while leaving the rest of the forest intact. This helps to ensure that the forest remains diverse and healthy while the carbon that is absorbed during the trees’ life is stored.

“Those trees otherwise would die and release that carbon directly back into the atmosphere,” Gutchess Lumber President and Chairman Matthew Gutchess explained. “Even better, removal of the overstory allows new trees to grow, which consume carbon out of the atmosphere more efficiently than mature trees. This makes an active working forest a powerful force for mitigation of climate change.”

As we celebrate Environmental Awareness Month, let’s take a moment to reflect on the importance of our forests and what we can do to protect them. By choosing products made from responsibly sourced wood and supporting sustainable forestry practices, we can help make sure that our forests remain healthy for generations to come. To learn more about Gutchess Lumber’s commitment to the environment, head over to our environment and sustainability resource center by clicking here.

MTV created Mental Health Action Day in 2020 and Gutchess Lumber’s own Forest 2 Home was an inaugural member. Forest 2 Home, with MTV, worked to help start important conversations about mental health and break the stigma that surrounds it. Throughout the day, Forest 2 Home team members talked to woodworking, crafting, and DIY industry leaders through Instagram Live. Forest 2 Home was also joined by industry partners Woodsmith Magazine and Popular Woodworking Magazine. The full programming can be found on Forest 2 Home’s website.

Mental Health Action Day is an important step in raising awareness for mental health and breaking the stigma that surrounds it. By partnering with companies like Forest 2 Home, MTV is able to reach a wider audience and make a bigger impact.

Mental health is an often overlooked but important part of overall health. One in five adults in the United States experiences a mental illness in any given year, yet only 43% of those adults receive treatment. Mental illness can affect anyone at any age, but most mental illnesses first appear during adolescence or young adulthood.

Mental Health Action Day is an important step in raising awareness for mental health and breaking the stigma that surrounds it. Too often, people suffering from mental illness feel like they have nowhere to turn or that they are alone in their struggle. Events like this help start important conversations and let people know that they are not alone.

You can help by starting a conversation about mental health with your friends and family. Too often, people suffering from mental illness feel like they have nowhere to turn or that they are alone in their struggle. Events like this help start important conversations and let people know that they are not alone.

Forest 2 Home: Forest 2 Home is a Gutchess Lumber brand. Gutchess President and Chairman Matthew Gutchess saw an opportunity to connect individual woodworkers, crafters, and DIYers across the United States with our premium hardwood lumber products. Opening in 2020, Forest 2 Home has served all 50 states and partners with local builders for a monthly F2H Gives Back campaign to promote circular giving.

As an environmentally conscious company, Gutchess Lumber is committed to doing what it can for the environment. The company is always looking for ways to improve energy efficiency and overall operational management. Gutchess Lumber was recognized by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NSERDA) for these efforts in a report.

Gutchess was excited to take part in the On-Site Energy Manager (OsEM) pilot program offered by NYSERDA. This new initiative offered greater insight into Gutchess’ energy consumption and potential cost-saving opportunities.

“I believe progressive companies will employ energy managers as a key component to controlling costs,” Gutchess Lumber Plant Engineer Ben Stuart said.

The goal of the program was to save around 7.5 percent of Gutchess’ annual electric usage. In the end, the results exceeded that goal. The actual electric savings totaled 10 percent.

Gutchess Lumber has been in operation for over 100 years and is one of the largest private employers in Cortland County and one of the largest hardwood producers in the country. The global hardwood lumber leader has made a commitment to sustainability, finding ways to reduce its environmental impact while still providing high-quality lumber products.

NSERDA is a public benefit corporation that promotes energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy resources. The organization works with businesses, government agencies, and residents of New York State to help save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. NSERDA provides technical assistance and other resources to help achieve these goals.

Gutchess Lumber will continue to look for ways to improve its energy efficiency and overall operational management in order to further reduce its environmental impact. For more on Gutchess Lumber’s stance on the environment and sustainability, click here.

The following was written by Vice President of Natural Resources John Zemanick. Natural Resources oversees the Forestry and Procurement Departments for Gutchess Lumber Co., Inc.

Our job in this department is to manage our nearly 30,000 acres of company owned timberlands, purchase standing timber and logs to maintain woodyard inventory levels that are needed to provide full production in the mill. This is a very rewarding but often stressful career path and department. We have to work with outside forces such as what mother nature throws us, such as rain, snow, ice, drought, as well as hunting season, harvesting and trucking contractors and once in a while an irate mill manager over species mix (they love to run Hickory), too many or not enough logs and of course Larry Lines !

Many people have asked how I ventured into this profession – I actually started out in electrical engineering, but quickly determined that was not the field I wanted for the rest of my working days. My love for the forest and outdoors started at a very young age. My father and mother would take our whole family out to a property in a remote area of Chenango County, NY. When he was just a young man, my father purchased these 60 acres, which were surrounded by state land. We referred to this place as the “farm house” because it was originally a home and farm stead that was built prior to the great depression on a seasonal road with no electricity or running water (still to this day). We used to have to pump water from a hand dug well and use oil lanterns for light at night. This was the place we would go each fall to hunt with a group of my fathers close friends, “the gang”, and we grew up eating venison/grouse and rabbit that we harvested from this property.

As I got older my group of friends would go out to the farm. We enjoyed the comradery, hunting and serenity of the forest. I decided to follow my brothers path to The Ranger School in Wanakena, the heart of the Adirondacks. As part of SUNY ESF, I attended the 1+1 program to earn an Associates and then went on to ESF Syracuse to finish my BS in Forest Resource Management. After graduation, I moved to North Carolina to start my forestry career with Georgia Pacific a leader in building products. My heart was always set on returning to New York, so I waited for a job to open at a GP run hardwood sawmill on the border of New York and Pennsylvania. I was eventually lucky enough to find my way to Gutchess Lumber in 2004, where I learned from some great, seasoned foresters how to cruise, evaluate and buy quality Northern hardwoods.

For those that have not found the right career path, there is still time to figure it out, to make changes if necessary and to work in a field that you truly enjoy and want to be doing. To this day my brother and I still own the property that had been in our family for over 60 acres and I have bought some adjoining land to add on to this sanctuary. I walk through my woodlots summer and winter and plan on TSI (timber stand improvement cuts), future sustainable timber harvests and building a small cabin so that my boys will be able to grow up and have a place that they hopefully find the same relaxation and peace in.

Community Solar Installations on Gutchess Lumber Land Set to Open in Early 2021

Clean solar energy will offset carbon emissions equivalent to over 2,000 homes in the region

As solar energy efforts have risen over the past decade and continue to rapidly increase, Gutchess Lumber is proud to open five community solar installations located on sites in Cortland County, bringing the advantages of clean, renewable energy to more people in the region. These solar sites are expected to begin feeding power to the regional electrical grid in early 2021.

“Gutchess Lumber has a five-generation commitment to the environment,” President Matthew Gutchess said, “and we’re excited to build on that legacy with solar power.” Gutchess Lumber is hosting the installations on cleared land adjacent to our logging operations.

Solar power is created by harnessing the sun through panels and is then converted to usable electricity, which can now be shared throughout the local community. Community solar, also known as “shared solar”, generates renewable photovoltaic (PV) energy that feeds directly into existing utility energy grids. This method is growing rapidly nationwide. In fact, 40 states have at least one community solar project and there are nearly 2 gigawatts of community solar installed across the United States.

Shared solar is gaining popularity, as it gives renters as well as home and business owners equal access to the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy. Here are a few of the many benefits of community solar:

• Ease: No panel instillations and no interruptions to service
• Savings: Overall electricity costs are lowered after applying credits to electricity bills
• Environmental impact: Solar power does not contaminate water sources, pollute the air, nor does it utilize traditional fossil fuel combustion (a leader in greenhouse gas emission)

Developed and owned by C2 Energy Capital, these installations will each produce slightly more than 2.6 megawatts —for a total generating capacity of 13.6 megawatts. “With nearly 37,000 solar panels, we’ll produce enough electricity to offset the carbon emissions of 2,300 households each year,” said Candice Michalowicz, C2 Energy managing member. C2 Energy Capital owns and operates 130 solar projects across the country, including 20 megawatts of community systems, that offer subscribers cost-effective renewable energy.

Gutchess Lumber and our employee owners have a long history of sustainability and responsible forest management. Our land holdings already supply renewable timber resources, which sequester carbon from the atmosphere, drawing down additional carbon through natural regeneration and supplying many local government programs with critical tax dollars. By utilizing solar, Gutchess is helping to further reduce the demand for fossil fuels, a major contributor to global warming.

Create your own environmental legacy by subscribing today. Help ensure a bright, clean future for our entire area and learn how to take advantage of this exciting opportunity by visiting www.sunscribe.com.

As solar energy efforts have risen over the past decade and continue to rapidly increase, Gutchess Lumber is proud to open five community solar installations located on sites in Cortland County, bringing the advantages of clean, renewable energy to more people in the region. These solar sites are expected to begin feeding power to the regional electrical grid in early 2021.

“Gutchess Lumber has a five-generation commitment to the environment,” President Matthew Gutchess said, “and we’re excited to build on that legacy with solar power.” Gutchess Lumber is hosting the installations on cleared land adjacent to our logging operations.

Solar power is created by harnessing the sun through panels and is then converted to usable electricity, which can now be shared throughout the local community. Community solar, also known as “shared solar”, generates renewable photovoltaic (PV) energy that feeds directly into existing utility energy grids. This method is growing rapidly nationwide. In fact, 40 states have at least one community solar project and there are nearly 2 gigawatts of community solar installed across the United States.

Shared solar is gaining popularity, as it gives renters as well as home and business owners equal access to the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy. Here are a few of the many benefits of community solar:

• Ease: No panel instillations and no interruptions to service
• Savings: Overall electricity costs are lowered after applying credits to electricity bills
• Environmental impact: Solar power does not contaminate water sources, pollute the air, nor does it utilize traditional fossil fuel combustion (a leader in greenhouse gas emission)

Developed and owned by C2 Energy Capital, these installations will each produce slightly more than 2.6 megawatts —for a total generating capacity of 13.6 megawatts. “With nearly 37,000 solar panels, we’ll produce enough electricity to offset the carbon emissions of 2,300 households each year,” said Candice Michalowicz, C2 Energy managing member. C2 Energy Capital owns and operates 130 solar projects across the country, including 20 megawatts of community systems, that offer subscribers cost-effective renewable energy.

Gutchess Lumber and our employee owners have a long history of sustainability and responsible forest management. Our land holdings already supply renewable timber resources, which sequester carbon from the atmosphere, drawing down additional carbon through natural regeneration and supplying many local government programs with critical tax dollars. By utilizing solar, Gutchess is helping to further reduce the demand for fossil fuels, a major contributor to global warming.

Create your own environmental legacy by subscribing today. Help ensure a bright, clean future for our entire area and learn how to take advantage of this exciting opportunity by visiting www.sunscribe.com.

Gutchess Lumber Co., Inc. is proud to introduce Forest 2 Home. While Gutchess provides lumber worldwide, Forest 2 Home was created to support individual woodworkers and crafters across North America. Forest 2 Home’s goal is to make Northern hardwood accessible and affordable to all, while adhering to Gutchess’ strict quality standards.

There has been growing demand for quality and sustainable lumber, which is why Forest 2 Home is pleased to initially offer four species including Cherry, Hard Maple, Red Oak, and Walnut in a variety of widths and lengths, with other species, including Ash, Bass, White Oak, and more, coming soon.

“As many of Gutchess Lumber’s multi-generation employee owners and extended family members are woodworkers themselves, the solution to their experienced pain points became obvious: offer them the best product in this market. We take pride in carefully managing our renewable Northern hardwood species, carbon sequestering, and forest regeneration to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. Forest 2 Home brings environmental benefits of responsible forestry directly home to woodworkers, which makes our lives more beautiful and enjoyable,” President Matthew Gutchess said.

Learn more on the Forest 2 Home website.