Pro-XR Granted U.S. Patent

Independent Inventor Granted Patent for Ergonomic Baseball Bat

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. LOUIS, MO (July 13, 2010) – St. Louis based inventor and creative consultant, Grady Phelan, announced today that he was granted a U.S. patent, number 7,744,497 on June 29, 2010, which covers a baseball bat featuring an angled knob.

The patented bat, dubbed Pro-XR, features an ergonomic knob which provides batters with increased performance and greater safety. It delivers a smooth swing path for the batter’s hands by minimizing knob compression on the base hand. The results are quicker hands, more powerful swings and better plate coverage. Because the angled knob automatically aligns the batter’s hands with the grain of the bat, batters will experience fewer broken and thrown bats, as well as improved grip. It also reduces the compression forces that contribute to hand injuries like a broken hook of the hamate. With dramatically reduced hand pressure, the bat also allows players to return to the batting cages sooner following a hand injury than would be possible with conventional bats.

In 2006, Phelan received confirmation that the angled knob is legal for use in play from both professional baseball leagues and national college athletics. With the exception of the cupped bat barrel developed in the early 1970’s, today’s baseball bat has remained largely unchanged over the past 150 years. “Current bat knobs act like a speed bump to a player’s swing. But with the angled knob, the Pro-XR bat provides a distinct advantage,” said Phelan. “This new bat represents a revolutionary improvement over conventional bats of the past by addressing how the batter’s hands interact with the bat. The angled knob gives batters precise control of their swing and quicker hands to the hitting zone, allowing them to use all of their power when making contact with the ball.”

According to the National Sporting Goods Association, the 2009 annual U.S. sales of metal and composite bats were $142.5 million, not including wood. With metal representing about 93 percent of the market, the total estimated annual U.S. bat market is about $152.2 million. “Players at all levels are constantly searching for the best technology and performance available in their equipment. We think there’s a lot of room in the bat market for this bat to capture market share and experience a great deal of success,” notes Phelan.

Phelan’s company, Giant Project, Inc., is inviting bat makers to discuss licensing opportunities of this patented bat technology. Phelan is also developing plans to launch a line of ergonomic bats through the Pro-XR website. More information about the newly patented bat can be found at www.proxr.com.

For inquiries regarding licensing, please contact Jim von der Heydt at Innoventures, 314-725-0110 or jvdh@innoventures.org. For media contacts, please contact Grady Phelan, 314-322-7449 or gphelan@proxr.com

Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act: With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or mutually impact the matters herein described, including but not limited to, product acceptance, the ability to continually obtain increased orders of its products, the ability to meet development goals, economic, competitive, regulatory impacts, whether pending patents will be granted or defendable, validity of intellectual property and patents, the ability to license patents, the ability to commercialize developmental products, as well as technological and/or other factors.