As Bonds chases record, two manufacturers hope he'll be swinging ...
TEMPE, Ariz. - Barry Bonds isn't considered a darling in the world of corporate marketing, but bat manufacturers are scrambling to put their product in his hands.
Who wouldn't want to supply the bat used to break the all-time home run record?
The winner appears to be a Japanese company, SSK, which provided Bonds a dozen black-and-gold lacquered maple bats made to the slugger's exact specifications. Bonds is using the bats this spring - he just ordered 36 more - and considers them nearly identical to the Sam Bats he has faithfully swung since 1999.
"They did it perfect," said Bonds, who swung an SSK in Wednesday's exhibition against the Los Angeles Angels.
Bonds began auditioning for a new bat supplier because of an inconvenient truth.
Mother Nature, in tandem with financial issues, has put Ottawa-based Sam Bats manufacturer Sam Holman months behind in filling his 2,000 major league orders.
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