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- - Pink Bats! (https://forums.operationsports.com/fofc//showthread.php?t=49601)

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5594322

Quote:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Hulking Jim Thome. Rugged Manny Ramirez. Brawny Adam Dunn. "The thought of these big macho men, swinging pink bats to help women with breast cancer ... what a novel idea," Louisville Slugger president John Hillerich said Tuesday.
Major League Baseball granted special permission for players to use the colorful bats - baby pink, at that - for Mother's Day. They're part of a weeklong program to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Derek Jeter, David Eckstein and Marcus Giles are among dozens of players who intend to try them Sunday. This is the first time pink has been approved for bats - dyed at the Louisville Slugger factory, they're usually black, brown, reddish or white.

Kevin Mench was among several Texas players who wanted their mother's names burned on the bats. The Rangers slugger, who homered in seven straight games earlier this season, also planned to have a bat for his grandmother, who died from breast cancer.

"My mom is the glue of our family, and I just want to do something to thank her for all that she has done," Mench said before Tuesday night's game against Minnesota. "At the same time, we are raising money for a great cause."

Howard Smith, senior vice president for licensing for MLB, said the idea for the pink bats struck a chord with commissioner Bud Selig and other executives. The question was how many players would use the sticks.

"It takes a big man to swing a pink bat in a major league game," Smith said.

More than 400 bats were being made for 50-plus players. David Ortiz, Jim Edmonds, Mark Teixeira, Michael Young and Hank Blalock were also on the list.

The Louisville Slugger factory started making the bats last week. Players were still placing orders as of Tuesday, and bats will probably be made and shipped overnight until Thursday or Friday.

"The response has been phenomenal," Hillerich said.

The bats posed something of a logistical problem for Louisville Slugger. Each player uses a different model and size, so coloring, branding and shipping them for Sunday's game has been a challenge, company spokesman Dan Burgess said.

Along with the pink bats, players and all on-field personnel will wear pink wristbands and a pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness on their uniforms. The pink ribbon logo will appear on the bases and on commemorative home plates, and the lineups will be written on pink cards.

The bats, along with the home plates and lineup cards, will be autographed by the teams and will be auctioned off later with the proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Foundation.

what if I don't want to wear the ribbon?

Who doesn't want to wear the ribbon???!?!

I somehow see Barry Bonds managing to make an ass of himself with this. I don't know exactly how. But I see it happening in one way or another.

Quote:

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I somehow see Barry Bonds managing to make an ass of himself with this. I don't know exactly how. But I see it happening in one way or another.

He will use a pink bat, hit HR #715 with it and then won't want to auction it off since it is the bat that he passed Babe Ruth with.

Bonds is like Larry David.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Bonds is like Larry David.

He's the man with the cape?

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Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Bonds is like Larry David.

That is a very clever comparison.

I thought this thread was going to be the latest installment of "What's in Draft Dodger's Attic?"

This is a lot better then that stupid Spiderman 2 marketing they tried to do with the logo on the bases and such.

Very stand up thing for the MLB to do.

They did this in hockey this year. The players warmed up with the pink sticks and they auctioned them off, usually autographed, afterwards.

On our drive from New Orleans up to Greensburg last year, my wife and I stopped in Louisville just to see the Louisville Slugger factory. It was fascinating, although we only got to see videos of the actual bat production (we went on a Sunday, so the factory workers were off). Even so, it was really amazing to see the bat-making process, and I couldn't believe how many different bats they had to make for all these ballplayers.

I can only imagine the hysteria that's going on in that place right now, trying to get all these different pink bats made and shipped in time for Mother's Day.

As gimmicky as this is, I think it's actually kindof a cool idea.

SI

What are the odds on green bats for St. Patrick's Day next Spring? Probably red, white, and blue for the Fourth, also.

This is a pretty cool idea.

I think it was Hank Blalock that said if he hit a homer with it, he was going to keep it and paint it black. I say, go with the pinkie all year!

Quote:

"It takes a big man to swing a pink bat in a major league game," Smith said.

I don't really see why to be honest. It's not like the other kids in the playground are going to say "ooh, he used a pink bat, he must be a girl!" or anything...