Fastball

Custom Bats Go Viral During MLB Little League Classic Between Phillies, Nationals

Bryson Stott stepped up to the plate with a No. 2 pencil bat, while Bryce Harper had a Phillie Phanatic bat and Joey Meneses used a crayon bat.
Sam Connon|
Custom Bats Go Viral During MLB Little League Classic Between Phillies, Nationals
Custom Bats Go Viral During MLB Little League Classic Between Phillies, Nationals

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Washington NationalsPhiladelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals made sure to get creative at the plate on Sunday.

The two teams were facing off as part of the MLB Little League Classic at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. With the Little League World Series going on, plenty of kids and future ballplayers were in the stands to watch Philadelphia and Washington face off.

Players on both sides were allowed to use custom bats in the one-off event, the most outlandish of which went viral of social media.

Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper stepped up to the plate with a bat designed like Philadelphia's mascot, the Phillie Phanatic. A few at-bats later, second baseman Bryson Stott debut a bat that looked like a No. 2 pencil.

The Nationals got in on the fun as well, with designated hitter Joey Meneses following Stott's lead by using a bat that resembled a blue crayon.

And those were just the bats that caught the most attention on social media.

Victus Sports provided nearly 20 custom bats in total. There were red crayons, aliens, stars and stripes and more. One bat even looked like a cartoon version of Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh as a caveman.

As for the game itself, the Nationals got out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. The Phillies scratched three runs across in the top of the ninth to make things close, but the comeback effort fell just short.

Washington improved to  57-68, but remains in last place in the NL East. Philadelphia, despite falling to 67-57, still holds the top NL Wild Card spot.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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