Football may have eclipsed baseball as America’s pastime, but the market for baseball and softball gear remains sizable: Amer Sports estimates it at about $2.2 billion, about $1.4 billion of which comes from the United States.

Hillerich & Bradsby — now run by John A. Hillerich IV — said in a statement on Monday that the well-known brand needed a shot in the arm to bolster sales, one that the family-run company could not provide.

“The decision to sell the Louisville Slugger brand was a difficult and serious one to make,” the statement said. “The Hillerich family, and those closest to the brand, firmly believes that a new business model is necessary to realize the enormous potential of this brand in the future.”

Hillerich & Bradsby won’t walk away from Louisville Slugger, however. It will still manufacture the bats, made from hardwood trees from Pennsylvania and New York, in its factory in downtown Louisville. It will also hold on to its Bionic Gloves division and its Powerbilt golf brand, as well as the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, which draws more than 300,000 visitors a year.