Barry Bonds not using Sam Bats?

[gameused]

I just ran across this photo of Bonds swinging a Louisville Slugger M-9 during a game vs the Mariners on 6-18-06, that's the first time I've seen Bonds use a bat during a game that's not a Sam Bat in quite some time. Maybe another players bat?

[Yankwood]

And ironically enough, last week I noticed that Arod was using Sam bats for a few of his at bats. Both black and natural.

[Birdbats]

I've heard that Sam Bats recently raised their bat prices significantly. Albert Pujols, who had used Sam almost exclusively in 2006, was using X-Bats before his injury. Maybe he and Bonds (and/or the Giants and Cardinals) are trying to send a message. If this is the case, it's a bad move by Sam Bats. Sure, they need to be profitable. But if their poster boys (Bonds and Pujols) abandon them, that could spell big trouble.

Jeff
http://www.birdbats.com

[Frank]

I've heard that Sam Bats recently raised their bat prices significantly. Albert Pujols, who had used Sam almost exclusively in 2006, was using X-Bats before his injury. Maybe he and Bonds (and/or the Giants and Cardinals) are trying to send a message. If this is the case, it's a bad move by Sam Bats. Sure, they need to be profitable. But if their poster boys (Bonds and Pujols) abandon them, that could spell big trouble.

Jeff
http://www.birdbats.com

Yeah it could... I know they need to make money, but they should try to keep some big names using their bats...

[allstarsplus]

Bizarre. Alfonso Soriano who always seems to use blonde SAM bats was using MAX bats in games. Hard to tell how long he has been using them but he had a light coated pine tar bat in Boston and you could see the MAX logo.

Usually he puts so much pine tar on the label you can't tell so not sure what he has been using this week.

[jon_8_us]

And to add to the bat switching theme Manny Ramirez has used Sam bats in the past but has been a Louisville M9 guy for the better part of 2 years now but in the past 3 weeks has used exclusively Sam(and has been on a tear!!)
jon

[suave1477]

Here is a note a little off topic but to further explain sometimes how items are used and I was watching a baseball game a few weeks back and the Orioles were playing a team i dodnt remember but I do remember the announcers saying that one of the players on the opposite team didnt have his ordered cleats for the game. So I beleive it was Nike had sent him a pair of Tejadas cleats to replce the ones he didnt get.
I just wonder when these will end up on the MarKet as Tejada game used?

[jon_8_us]

Funny you bring up Tejada because some of the Ramirez Sam bats he has used in the past were actually given to him by Tejada.Wonder if any of those turned up??
jon

[gameused]

Funny you bring up Tejada because some of the Ramirez Sam bats he has used in the past were actually given to him by Tejada.Wonder if any of those turned up??
jon

Jon,

Here's a few pics of a Tejada Sam bat used by Manny Ramirez late last year.

Bobby

[sylbry]

Not to switch the topic but this thread brought up a question I have always wondered; who pays for the bats, the team or the player?

[indyred]

When I've done the tour at Louisville Slugger factory, they said the team pays for the bat. I believe they charge $40 per bat. Some guys get well over 100 bats per season.

[indyred]

Has anyone seen Barry Bonds using any more Louisville Slugger's again?

[staindsox]

Wow Bobby, that's a beautiful Manny gamer.

[geoff]

I have a Max Bat that is game used by Soriano from last yr with the Rangers that has alot of pine tar on it.

[sfgiants452]

indyred,

Yes, Bonds has used louisville sluggers more than once. Bonds used them starting in early may and stopped a little after the all-star break. He must having been experimenting because he would switch once every two at bats. He would hit much better with the SAM bats so I think he stopped using the sluggers. I have watched every game and only remember him getting 2 or 3 hits with them.

Anthony

[indyred]

Was he using M9 models mostly. I was downtown in Louisville today and just walked around the museum and I could see in the windows they had some Barry Bonds bats. They weren't M9 though. It was just in the practice stamping area. I wonder with him in Cincy this week if they made a few for him. His name was in regular block lettering, did he ever sign a deal with Louisville Slugger, where his name would be in autograph version on the barrell?

[mikedarrcollector]

i just took the louisville slugger tour today and saw a barry bonds M9 bat that was in the error stack so i believe that louisville has made bats for bonds lately. there was not much going on at the ls factory today cause it's memorial day and i have a friend who is a sorta vip so we got a extra tour and saw the bonds so it was suprising to see his M9 bat just laying aruond the factory.

[indyred]

That is cool you got to see a little extra. Whenever I'm downtown and have time to kill I check out around the Museum and take some swings in the cage. I saw most of Reds game tonight and Bonds just used his sam bats in the times I saw him.....Was his name just in block letter's on the bats? I'm not Bonds expert, I just thought he would have signed a deal at some point and had a signature edition of Louisville Slugger made.
Mikedarrcollector......I'm pretty new to this area, are there any dealers or shops in the Louisville area that sell game used bats? Seems like there is nothing collectible wise around here.