“Postera non grata”: No Barry Bonds Posters Since 2003
Barry Bonds “The Best” (Starline 2003) – The LAST Barry poster published!
Despite a continuing - and soon to be successful – assault on Hank Aaron’s all-time Home Run record, Barry Bonds has been persona non grata when it comes to the poster publishers. Evidence of the use of performance-enhancing drugs, combined with a surly demeanor and a poor reputation as a teammate, has made him a less-than-popular superstar. Yet, certainly, he has more fans than, say, Mark Teixeira or Jason Bay.
Nevertheless, the last time a poster publisher featured Barry was 2003, on the above “The Best” poster, by the now-defunct Starline Inc. Costacos Sports (now owned by Trends International Corp.), hasn’t published a Bonds poster since this 2001 entry, “Bonds Away”.
The backlash against Bonds seems to be spreading everywhere, and the poster market is no exception. Perhaps it’s because, when he joined the Giants in 1993, he looked like a different person entirely…
Barry Bonds “Gone Deep” – Starline 1993
I guess the question is: will Costacos/Trends publish a record-breaker commemorative when Bonds hits #756? I’ll pop an e-mail to the marketing manager there, and let you know if I get a response.
UPDATE 06/12/2007: I just got that response. Costacos/Trends does not publish Bonds posters because Barry opted out of the MLBPA back in 2003, and thus a separate licensing agreement would have to be negotiated with Barry’s agent. Costacos/Trends does not believe this would be worth the time or effort.
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