Before Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. could break Lou Gehrig’s historic consecutive games played streak, he would have to tie him. That’s exactly what Ripken did when he suited up for the 2,130th consecutive time on September 5th, 1995 against the California Angels. This is the bat Cal Ripken, Jr. used during batting practice as he prepared to become the co-consecutive games record. The P72 model bat shows moderate use and is un-cracked. There are ball marks, blue ink transfers, white leather scuffs and slight checking or grain swelling from repeated ball contact present on the barrel with the center brand and barrel stamping clear and bright, the silver ink contrasting nicely against the black finish. The handle and lower barrel carries a light coating of pine tar and both ends show scuffing from contact with the ground and other equipment.

To mark the significance of this bat, a pink Baltimore Police Department evidence tag has been attached to the handle. In the days before MLB Authenticated and third-party authenticators, the local police were recruited to verify the authenticity of this the bat used during the games Cal tied and broke Lou Gehrig’s record. It was only natural that the police would use a standard evidence tag, as this bat is indeed evidence of Cal Ripken’s place in baseball history. The handwritten notation describes the bat’s use during batting practice from the September 5, 1995 game and has been signed by the officer who recovered it. It has been identified on the tag with “2130” and “Cal Ripken’s Pre-Game Batting Practice Bat” markings. Ripken has also signed this bat in bold contrasting silver marker on the barrel inscribing “9-5-95 #2130”. This historic bat comes directly from the personal collection of Cal Ripken, Jr. and a signed LOA will accompany this bat.