Baseball Bat

"This brings back some good memories."

- Nick

"That's a home run!"

- Ellis

The Baseball Bat is a close combat weapon, introduced in Left 4 Dead 2. Originally, the Baseball Bat was a pre-order related item: if at least one player on a team pre-ordered the game, the Baseball Bat would appear in every safe room and the Baseball Bat would not disappear when picked up, allowing every member to pick it up. For players who have downloaded The Passing DLC, the Baseball Bat is randomly found alongside the other melee weapons in all maps, and acts like a normal melee weapon.

Pros

 * Good range and speed.
 * Has more consistent hit detection.
 * Can be found in all campaigns and is relatively more common.
 * Attacks are less obstructive to the user's vision.

Cons

 * Cannot be used to cut a Smoker's tongue.
 * Not recommended for killing Boomers due to bile showering attacker and any nearby Survivors.

Behind the Scenes
Judging by soundscripts (Player.Hit_BeatManWithClub), it seems a Baseball Bat was meant to be in the original Left 4 Dead as a bonus. It was eventually removed in an update from September 2005.