As we run down what the best TV and movies were in 2016, certain victors are standing out. But there's one pop culture winner that doesn't fit into a year-end slideshow, because it's an inanimate object: the baseball bat. In no way did the baseball bat make an impact on the year because of actual baseball — no, this year everyone needed their own bat because they wanted to look like one of these bat-wielders for Halloween [1]. How did this happen? By making the ol' bat look like a cool accessory . . . of total destruction. From car windshields to beloved TV characters' faces, the bat smashed through barriers. And now, here are all places where the bat went from simple sporting good to pop culture icon in 2016.
Beyoncé and Her "Hot Sauce" Swag
All the cool kids name their bats, but Beyoncé's special bat, unveiled during "Hold Up" in Lemonade, was like a special Easter egg for fans. Its name is "Hot Sauce," a reference to the lyric in the previously released "Formation" single, [2] confirming that she travels with her trusty window-smasher.
Harley Quinn and Her Loaded Bat
Margot Robbie's psychotic antihero doesn't just have one of the weirder, sexier comic book character costumes, but she also carries a bat as an accessory, one she hypnotizingly cocks in the trailer [4] that inspired 2016 Halloween costumes [5] everywhere.
Negan and His Horrifying Devotion to Lucille
How do you make a baseball bat terrifying? Wrap it in barbed wire, name it Lucille, and let it exact postapocalyptic justice. Negan's usage of the sports equipment is the most depraved usage of the bat in pop culture history, and not just in 2016 — we're talking all time. RIP Glenn. RIP the innocence of baseball.
