Louisville Bats mascot consist of the winged mammal, the bat is also synonymous with the Louisville Slugger baseball bat. Traditionally one of the top-drawing minor league teams, the Bats' attendance in 2011 was second of all minor league teams with an average of 8,716 per game. In 2016, "Forbes" listed the Bats as the 11th-most valuable Minor League Baseball team with a value of $36 million. The Bats have once won the Governors' Cup—the championship of the IL—and twice played in the championship series. "Note: The Bats were ahead 1-0 in the championship series when the September 11, 2001, attacks occurred. The
Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory for many years after, but the land was donated to the city in 2015 to be developed into a community space. From 1974 to 1996, Louisville Sluggers were actually made in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just across the Ohio River at a facility called Slugger Park, while H&B maintained corporate offices on Broadway in Louisville. Starting in the early 1990s, H&B CEO John A. "Jack" Hillerich III began looking to move production back to Louisville. Hillerich wanted to bring the factory back together with the business offices while also providing a place for the public to connect with the Louisville Slugger brand.