The other very possible scenario that we haven't considered as of yet is that it is a real Ripken game bat that was used by another player (who taped his bats). This is certainly well within the realm of possibility. In my discussions with the seller, he told me that the bat came from someone with the Orioles (a bat boy or someone like that; I don't remember specifically), so it's not like Ripken handed him the bat after stepping off of the diamond. The provenance certainly allows for this alternative explanation.

Reid