Former New York Yankees star Joe Pepitone has filed a lawsuit against the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum seeking the return of the Louisville Slugger bat that Mickey Mantle used to hit his 500th career home run more than five decades ago.
In an 11-page lawsuit filed this week in federal court in upstate New York, Pepitone also is seeking compensatory damages of at least $1 million. The bat is currently valued at over $500,000, according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims that Pepitone agreed to lend the bat to the Hall of Fame "with the understanding and upon the condition that it would be returned to him at any time upon his request.