Thrown bat at pitch

[Jackie W.]

I haven't looked this one up yet(don't worry, I promise I will). An umpire told me of a situation where a batter hit a ball by throwing his bat at it as it crossed the plate. In other words, the bat was not in his hands when it made contact with the ball. He ruled it legal. It sounds fishy to me, but I'm not sure. Ever heard of this before?