After Matt Carpenter’s three-homer, two-double game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on July 20, the National Baseball Hall of Fame invited the Cardinals infielder to donate something from that historic day to its permanent collection.
Carpenter promised his bat — with a caveat. He intended to use it until it broke.
Carpenter’s bat cracked Saturday evening in his one-for-three game against the Cubs at Busch, and more than two weeks after he started using the bat, he sent it to Cooperstown, N.Y. Carpenter uses a Marucci-brand maple bat that is 33½ inches and 31½ ounces. He hasn’t changed the model, weight, or length of his bat since becoming a pro, and he added how rare it is that he snaps one of his bats given his approach at the plate.