Couple of things I posted in a thread a year ago:
I work for UPS and I've said this before and I'll say it again - TAPE IS CHEAP - USE A LOT OF IT
The long boxes bust open all the time. It's the way a lot of the facilities are built with their conveyor belts. They create jams when they get caught on the turns coming down the shoots. This doesn't apply to bats only. It happens to rugs, light bulbs, display stands, etc... and these items just come down the belt and get sorted to damage / re-wrap / lost packages.
SLAP A LABEL ON THE BOX AND ON THE BAT.
This way if the item comes out....there is the label right there to get it to it's destination. Hell - it might even go back to re-wrap and get put in a new box.
And if a person wants to steal something, they will find a way. Problem is employees walk through a metal detector to and from work everyday. It is really hard to conceal a bat.
Think about it logically.