Philadelphia Phillies star Bryson Stott appeared to bring a bat with a rubber end to the plate Sunday in the MLB Little League Classic.
Not to worry, it was not a corked bat, but an optical illusion. The Phils second baseman used a bat designed like an exact replica of a No. 2 pencil. That’s right, the same pencil that standardized test takers have come to hate — and forget at exam time.
The pencil bat might have been the perfect tie-in for the game aimed at young baseball fans, who have been sticking pencils in their book bags for the start of a new school year.
The No. 1 bat of the Little League Classic, Bryson Stott's No. 2 pencil. pic.twitter.com/wIMECbBQ2U
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 21, 2023
The bat did not give Stott any special powers. He got penciled into the lineup batting fifth, and got erased in his first three plate appearances against the Washington Nationals.
The bats, produced by Victus Sports, are available for sale to the public on the company’s website.
MLB fans really appreciated the novelty bat.
Bryson Stott's No. 2 pencil bat is 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mxHakVo8vT
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 21, 2023
— Daniel Hopkins (@dhopkins_9) August 21, 2023
How I’d be in the batters box: pic.twitter.com/v06O4XZU1P
— Sean Galway (@sean_galway1) August 21, 2023
Is it a #2 pencil? If not, then he can’t take a standardized test with it.
— Athletics Rants #VierlingASG (@AthleticsRants) August 20, 2023
For everyone asking this is during the little league classic where the league relaxes rules on things like this
— Adam P (@el_spacemonkey) August 21, 2023
Bryson Stott’s pencil bat is INSANE ✏️🔥 pic.twitter.com/AUcZQeqxDh
— Bradley Dean (@TBG9270584) August 21, 2023
Bryson Stott using a pencil bat for Sunday Night Baseball. 😂
This doesn’t even look real. pic.twitter.com/9CU1NNKarV
— Sportsbook Review (@SBRReview) August 20, 2023
[Photo Credit: ESPN]