Royals salute George Brett pine tar bat
May, 4, 2012
5/04/12
4:01
PM ET
By
Thomas Neumann | ESPN.com
Courtesy of Kansas City RoyalsThe Royals are unveiling one of the best promotional giveaways of the MLB season Saturday.The team is giving away miniature replicas of the famed George Brett pine tar bat to the first 20,000 fans through the turnstiles at Saturday's game against the Yankees.
It was against the Yankees that Brett homered off Goose Gossage in the ninth inning to give the visiting Royals a 5-4 lead on July 24, 1983. Brett was then called out for using an illegal bat, because pine tar had been applied more than 18 inches from the tip of the knob.
Never mind that the rule existed to keep baseballs clean, not to prevent a competitive advantage. The call was later overturned on appeal, and the Royals won the game upon its completion on Aug. 18 -- without Brett, who had been ejected on July 24.
You can watch video of the play -- and Brett's subsequent explosion -- by clicking here.
So while the replica doesn't look exactly like the actual pine tar bat, we applaud the Royals for a fun idea.





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