This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/5/2022
Baseball’s all-time leader in home runs swung this offered pro model bat early in the 2006 season. Coming off an injury-plagued year in which he appeared in just 14 games, Barry Bonds began the season at 708 career dingers, needing just six to catch Babe Ruth and 47 to tie Aaron. He ended up hitting 26 big flies in 367 official at-bats to pass the Bambino but had to wait until 2007 (his final season) to overcome Hammerin’ Hank for the career, which now sits at 762.
The 41-year-old Giants slugger got off to a slow start in 2006. His first homer of the season didn’t come until April 22nd in Colorado. A big reason was nobody wanted to pitch to him. He led the league in walks for an 11th time, taking 115 free passes that year while in pursuit of the record. Two of those came April 9th in San Francisco’s 6-5 victory over the Braves, the first courtesy of Hall of Famer John Smoltz. Bonds went 0-for-2 with a run scored. This very bat has been professionally photomatched to that game by Resolution Photomatching. In addition, bat expert John Taube has graded it a perfect PSA/DNA GU 10 for its impeccable characteristics.
The 25 ‘Bonds 2K1’ Sam Bat is un-cracked and displays outstanding evidence of game use. There are ball marks, blue ink transfers, green bat rack streaks and weighted donut impressions present. The handle and knob edge have been heavily taped in a spiral pattern to enhance grip, a common trait among Bonds clubs from late in his career. A light coat of pine tar is found on the upper handle. The maple bat is 34” long and weighs 32.7 ounces. Its measurables and other numeric info are written in pen on the cupped barrel end. Includes full LOA from PSA/DNA (1B26845) with a GU 10 bat grade. Paperwork from Resolution Photomatching confirms the photo-match.