Posted on 05/10/2006 12:58:35 PM PDT by dead
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - 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.
Pink baseball bats with team logos are shown, Tuesday, May 9, 2006 in Louisville, Ky.
Major League Baseball players could be in the pink on Sunday. Louisville Slugger is
making pink bats with a special brand for use on Mother's Day as part of MLB's 'Go
to Bat Against Breast Cancer' promotion. The bats will be sent to all major league
teams for players to use and are part of multiple events by the league to promote
breast cancer awareness.(AP Photo/Brian Bohannon)
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.
Obviously you've never slid into home plate with shorts on........
I would just LOVE it if Barry Bonds hits #714 with a pink bat... 50 years from now my great-grandkids will watch the video of that at bat and say "I didn't now Bonds was such a pansy".
I thought this article was going to be about Barney Frank.
I am a woman, a mother, and a grandmother. I find this entire charade to be the most offensive thing I've seen in a long time.
Now, apparently, we can not even have one day off from activism. This "pink bat/bleeding heart" BS is a twofer...let's stick it to Mother's Day and Major League Baseball at the same time.
You men better wake up and start fighting back. MLB is already diseased by greed and corruption, Barry Bonds is a fake and a criminal, and a liar, too. Here in 2006, in this rotten culture that glorifies the worst in America, there certainly is CRYING IN BASEBALL. I am a lifelong fan, and I could just weep. Bud Selig and the rest of the "awareness" Lefties can take those pink bats and jam them!
Doesn't Edgar Renteria with the Braves use a pink bat in every game?
It's a good cause, but..........
This opens things up. What about baseball supporting AIDS research, or other things?
It's a good cause to support breast cancer research, but how will baseball pick and choose what to support now that they have opened this pandora's box?
"It's a good cause to support breast cancer research, but how will baseball pick and choose what to support..."
Isn't the "boys and girls club of America" what MLB supports consistently?
I can think of a lot of adjectives for Manny but rugged is not one of them.
Punk maybe. Emptyheaded perhaps. Selfish for sure. But rugged? When I hear rugged I think Marlboro Man, Brawny paper towel guy etc...Definitely not corn-rowed, inner city baseball player.
Oh, pullleeeaaassseee.....silly boys....caught up in the Hallmarkization of America....
It's a good cause to support breast cancer research, but how will baseball pick and choose what to support now that they have opened this pandora's box?
And when are the LPGA or the WNBA going to hold their testicular cancer fundraisers?
I am so glad you said this, my first reaction was "why don't I like this idea"?
Please give us a day at the park without reminding us we are all gonna DIE!!!!!!
>>This opens things up. What about baseball supporting AIDS research, or other things?
It's a good cause to support breast cancer research, but how will baseball pick and choose what to support now that they have opened this pandora's box?<<
Baseball supports a lot of charities - this is just a different promotion.
http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/community/
he isn't an "inner city baseball player" either
Washington Heights, NYC is certainly “inner city” and Manny was a baseball player there growing up.
I would think that would qualify him, as much as anybody else, as an “inner city baseball player.”
No he lived in the Dominican for the first 13 years of his life...
He just barely even lived in NYC before he was picked up by the Major Leagues....
You want a true inner-city player, look at Carl Everett....
By definition, "an inner city baseball player."
You've obviously never been in a slump...
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