| Sat, 26 Apr 2008 |
Fukudome makes Impressive Major League Debut. |
Kosuke Fukudome (Chicago Cubs-Outfielder) jump-started his major league rookie debut when he hit a Home Run in the Cubs opening game with Milwaukee. He rocketed the ball out of the park with an SSK bat. Kosuke has been swinging a SSK pearl white “Aodamo” bat with our signature black “Bullet” logo, since he participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as the youngest player on the Japan National Team.
“Aodamo” is a unique tree only grown in the northern part of Japan; its wood is very hard yet flexible. It takes about 80-90 years of growth before trees are cut down for baseball bats. Due to their limited supply, bats made out of this precious wood are not sold at retail stores and only supplied to elite ball players. Fukudome uses 34”-920 gram (31-1/2 oz) bats.
The Chicago Cubs signed the superstar outfielder as a free agent after playing for the past nine years with the Chunichi Dragons-Nagoya team. Kousuke’s career batting average was .305 with a .397 on-base percentage. He is a two-time league batting champion in the Central League and a 4-time Gold Glover. Fukudome was honored as the Central League MVP in 2006.
The 30 year-old, left-handed batter, wearing uniform No. 1, is the heart of the line up for an explosive Cubs offense. He currently appears on the National League leader board with a .357-batting average, an impressive .477 on base percentage, and has scored 16 runs after only 19 games. The Cubs now lead the Central Division race in the National League.
SSK wishes him well in seeking to help bring a World Series Championship to the Chicago Cubs, thus ending a 100-year drought since the team’s last championship in 1908.
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