Madison Bumgarner is a fan of making history, he’s just not a fan of giving history away.
On Sunday, the Giants ace became the only pitcher in major league history to homer twice on opening day. Understandably, an achievement that the Hall of Fame would want to commemorate in Cooperstown. So, the HOF decided to ask Bumgarner for the bat he used that day.
However, according to The Mercury News, that’s not going to happen, “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.”
Though, Bumgarner did give the HOF his batting helmet.
First of all, why would anyone want Bumgarner’s batting helmet? Because of all the balls that the batting helmet hit out of the park? If you’re getting a historic piece of equipment from an event that involved home runs, you either get the bat, or the ball.
Nothing else matters.
Secondly, why in the world is Bumgarner taking his bat “out of commission?” If you just made history with it, why wouldn’t you keep using it?
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn