Eagle-eyed Goodwill shoppers know they can find some buried treasure lumped in with the loads of merchandise people simply try to get out of their homes. A 24-year old BYU student may have found the most incredible Goodwill find in years.

Grant Hartley paid $2.22 for an old baseball bat at a Goodwill store around Pittsburgh. He picked it up not knowing much about it, but was happy just to walk away with an old baseball bat.

“I had no idea about antique bats or bat stamps or anything like that,” Hartley said. “I’ve always wanted to be able to find something like, a piece of baseball history.”

Well, you found it, Grant.

The bat originally belonged to Hall of Fame infielder Harold “Pie” Traynor, who played for the Pirates from 1920 to 1927. Similar bats previously used by Traynor have gone for up to $7,000 at auction. One of Traynor’s bats reportedly sold for $1,900 just last year. So if Hartley is looking to get back his $2.22, then it looks as though he will be able to make quite a return on his investment.

And that has led to some criticism and complaints. Some reacting to the story believe Hartley should donate at least some of whatever potential profits back to Goodwill. I am not here to say what Hartley should or should not do, but somebody at Goodwill should probably review the baseball bats in the inventory moving forward a little more thoroughly to make sure they don’t have any other hidden treasures laying on the bargain racks.

[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Photo: AP]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.