Nampa Native Finds a Piece of History at Goodwill

Imagine paying two bucks for something at a thrift shop, and finding out later it's worth several thousand dollars.

It happened for a Nampa native, who paid $2.22 for a baseball bat that turned out to be worth a whole lot more since it's linked to baseball history.  And it's all because he went into the store looking for something "weird" or "cool."

Grant Hartley goes to school at BYU, but he was in Pittsburgh this summer for an internship at American Logistics Company, according to the Idaho Statesman.  One day he went thrift store shopping, hoping to dig through enough scattered G.I. Joe figurines and books in the bins that he'd eventually find a treasure, and he totally did.

Hartley found a baseball bat that he thought looked old, and he eventually learned that the Pirates' Hall of Fame third baseman, Harold “Pie” Traynor, used it when he played for the Pirates between 1926 and 1934.

Traynor probably gave it to a fan at one point, and it sat in someone's basement until it eventually found its way to Goodwill.  The auctioneers think it can bring in several thousand dollars now, because they don't make baseball bats like that anymore.

It's a rare find, and it makes the rest of us want to go dig around at thrift stores to see what hidden gems we can uncover.  And if you've got something to donate, make sure you're not dumping a hidden treasure.  Whoops!