The Grand Daddy of Matt Kemp Memorabilia

Last Friday, I hinted at a brand new piece to my Matt Kemp collection.

Got the granddaddy of all Matt Kemp memorabilia today. #BEASTMODE #Dodgers
— Alex Markle (@ChavezRavining) April 26, 2014

Unfortunately, because I wasn't home, I was unable to post about it until today. 

Now, before we get any further into this post, let me say one thing: it pays to have good friends. 

My best friend Dikran, being the stand-up guy he is, decided to buy me a birthday gift a few months early. He told me this and it seemed a bit unusual, but he had a good explanation. He quit his full-time job so he can go back to school, and knew he wouldn't have any extra money by the time my birthday rolled around in July. Therefore, he decided to buy me an awesome gift while he still had the cash.

No complaints here. Especially after I saw what my gift was.

Yup. A Matt Kemp autographed, game-used, cracked bat. I stole that picture, as well as the others coming up, straight from the eBay auction he won. It is unbelievably hard to take a good picture of a bat.

I am still amazed that this is now in my possession, but even more amazed after finding out how much it cost. Needless to say, I owe Dikran a grand birthday gift of his own. 

The fact that this bat is not only game-used and autographed by Kemp, but cracked makes it that much sweeter. You can bet I was extremely careful getting this thing home. 

Surprisingly, the bat weighed a lot less than I imagined. From what it weighed, I imagine Matt Kemp is swinging a 34, but a small part of the bat is missing so who knows. The knob sticker thing is pretty sweet as well. It happens to be covered in pine tar, as well as about 50% of the bat. 

I am still speechless that this is in my possession and that I have have a friend that would actually spend that kind of money on me. But it is mine all mine and will be for a very long time. Happy early birthday to me!