Every time Barry Bonds lugs a maple bat to the plate and tries to creep past Hank Aaron, he carries a piece of wood that cost him about $500.It was his own action last spring that assured he would be using what are believed to be the most expensive bats in Major League Baseball.

When Bonds discovered that his supplier, the Original Maple Bat Corporation, was for sale on eBay last year for $3.5 million, he was worried about how its uncertain future might affect him. He has used the Canadian maple bats since 1997 and swung a 2K1 model when he hit a record 73 homers for the San Francisco Giants in 2001.

So Bonds asked Sam Holman, the overalls-wearing founder and the namesake of the company's Sam Bats, how much it would cost to guarantee that he would get his full ration of bats for 2007. Holman exhaled at the question. Bonds soon gave Holman a check for $40,000.

"Barry just said, 'I want to ensure that I get my bats,'." Holman recalled. "He said: 'I don't care if I pay for everyone else's bats. I want to make sure that I get mine.'."