On Sunday afternoon Madison Bumgarner became the first pitcher ever to homer twice on opening day. That’s pretty historic, so the Hall of Fame came calling, asking for his bat.
As Andrew Baggarly of the Merc reports, however, Bumgarner isn’t giving it to ‘em:
Bumgarner said he isn’t much for memorabilia, but he’s keeping the piece of lumber he used to hit home runs off the Diamondbacks’ Zack Greinke and Andrew Chafin in Sunday’s opener at Chase Field. He’s not going to put it back in the rack. He’s said he’s taking it out of commission, fearing it might disappear if he doesn’t put it in a guarded place.
He did give Cooperstown his helmet, though.
No word if they asked Greinke and Chafin for the meatball recipe they used for those waist-high straightballs they served up that afternoon. Maybe they’re a closely-guarded secret.