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. This was then changed to players that had bought The Passing DLC, and was later made free to all players as long as they had online connectivity.

It can be found in all campaigns, and usually shares spawns with the Cricket Bat in campaigns they both appear.

Pros

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

Cons

 * Cannot be used to cut a Smoker's tongue.
 * Second hit has a much smaller hitbox than first hit.
 * Not recommended for killing Boomers due to bile showering the 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.