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Cubs' Javy Baez Reveals He Retires, Collects His Home Run Bats

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cubs slugger Javy Baez is apparently quite the collector, and what he collects is his own memorabilia.

The main thing that he hangs on to is his bats with which he hits home runs.

Baez revealed this info earlier this week. After he hit a home run against the Mets, Javy apparently asked to save the bat.

He has, in fact, been saving bats for a long time now. Every time he hits a home run, he replaces the bat with a new one, and hangs on to the bat that did the home run hitting.

"I keep all my bats. I keep all my home run bats since 2017, I think, so I got all my home run bats and every season, and I collect them, and I've got them at home."

Baez said when he hit his homer against the Mets recently, he never considered anything but taking the bat out of rotation.

"No, never – never use the same bat. I think only once – I did it only once in I think it's '19. I did it once with the same bat. I haven't done it since," Baez said. "I just saw, I think I saw Barry Bonds did it when he was at the end of his career – you know, saving the bats – I think it was 700-something homers that he did. And I just like the idea, and I'm trying to make a museum when I retire, so I will keep all my stuff."

Indeed, Baez is saying he wants to make his own museum. He said he really started hanging on to his stuff way back in the minor leagues when he was in high-A ball.

He said he has still got the bat, jersey, and two balls from a game in which he hit four home runs.

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