Barry Bonds’ hit his 542nd homer in dramatic fashion: The Giants and Reds were tied 3-3 in the top of the 11th at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium. Bonds was the first Giant to face Reds reliever Danny Graves to start the inning. With the count 1 and 1, the slugger got a hold of a Graves’ pitch and sent it over the outfield wall to give San Francisco a 4-3 lead. This opened the flood gates for a triple, then back to back home runs. Before the inning was over, Graves had given up six runs, but it turned out the Giants only needed Bonds’ solo shot to win the game, 9-3.

This is the bat Barry Bonds used that night to not only win the game, but also edge him ever closer in his quest to become the career home run champion. The two-tone SAM Bonds 2K1 model bat shows excellent use. The barrel has many ball marks and abrasions along with cleat imprints and bat rack paint streaks. The handle has been taped in a crisscross pattern and the knob wrapped to enhance the grip. A light coat of pine tar is present, and the barrel end has the bat’s specs handwritten in black marker. The Home Run King has signed the barrel in silver marker and added “#542” to emphasize the significance of this gamer. This bat comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA (H53383) for the game use and has been graded a perfect GU 10, plus a LOA from PSA/DNA (AF95003) for the signature.