A Slugger's Rebound: Shawn Green's Game-Used Bat From the 2004 NL West Champion Dodgers

Shawn Green came into 2004 with something to prove. After hitting a Dodgers-record 49 home runs in 2001, a shoulder problem limited him to a .280 average, 19 home runs, and 85 RBI in 2003. He bounced back. In 2004, he hit .266 with 28 home runs and 86 RBI, leading the Dodgers to the playoffs, and it was his fifth straight season with at least 85 RBI, this time after moving from right field to first base. He started the year with a home run on Opening Day off San Diego's Brian Lawrence, his 800th career RBI. He had plenty of help: Adrian Beltre hit 48 home runs, and the Dodgers finished 93-69 to win the NL West.

This bat comes from that season. The postseason was the cherry on top for Green. He appeared in the playoffs for the first time in his career, ending the longest active drought among major league position players at 1,514 career regular season games, and he set a Dodgers Division Series record with three solo home runs against St. Louis, although the Dodgers lost the series 3-1 to the Cardinals. Green finished his career with 328 home runs and 2,003 hits, and his stint in Los Angeles included some of the biggest offensive numbers the franchise has seen. For Dodgers collectors, a game-used bat from the year he rebounded and finally reached October is a piece of that run.