SOUTH BEND — Back in the 1980s Ron Kittle was making a living as an iron worker near Gary, Ind. One day he decided to play in a nearby league’s pickup game near his home. Sure enough, in his first at bat he hit one out of the park — right into then-White Sox owner Bill Veeck's car on the nearby highway. If you’re a White Sox fan, then you know that the rest is history.

But the AL Rookie of the Year is still drilling the ball — and now he's drilling bats too.

"I've always been a baseball fan, and I saw a bench one day that was made out of pine and had screws in it," Kittle says. “It had pieces of bats in between other bats and they were crooked and it really just wasn't made well."

So Kittle merged his love of the game with his love of carpentry — and now he's making furniture.

Major league balls serve as back supports, and bats take care of the arm rests.

"It’s a piece of art," Kittle explained. "If you're a baseball fan or you like the element of the John Deere or the Blue and Gold bench, I can make just about anything."

From the Major League benches to the ones in his garage, Kitty is living proof that you can take the guy out of the game, but you can’t take the game out of the guy.