In a sport almost devastated by two strikes, by the scandal of an All-Star game that was not allowed to finish, by general fan apathy, etc., etc., etc., it would be disastrous to declare that one of its top 5 stars is a cheater.... Sammy Sosa is very important to MLB, is a part of MLB, and having MLB investigate itself is a joke. What's more, it doesn't matter a single iota that Sosa's other 78 bats tested negatively for cork (if, indeed, that report can be trusted), because those weren't the bats he used in the game. If he had 500 uncorked bats, it wouldn't matter. If anything, the more uncorked bats he has the lower the odds become of him pulling the corked one by accident, and the more likely it was an act of deliberation. Baseball sucks. I actually derive some amusement from scandals like this one.
I agree with you Rex--I heard a very good theory on another board. Sosa used the corked bat for practice so the fans could see moon shots. He didn't normally use it in a game, but he was in a slump and decided to try the corked bat to break out of it. I think his other bats really were legit, in part because he's broken plenty of bats in his career and none of the others were corked.
I tend to believe Sammy for one reason - he has broken dozens of bats, and none of them were corked, indicating that he routinely does not use them. If you were a corker you would routinely used corked bats. Using a corked bat just once does not really give you an overall advantage on anything.
The only thing that doesn't make sense is the "it was my BP bat" excuse. Why use something that is LIGHTER in BP. Wouldn't you want to work on timing, bat speed, etc. with a heavier bat in practice so that you feel faster in a game? I don't think Sosa routinely corks his bats, and agree with those saying he was trying to break out of the slump since his return....
I think he uses the lighter bat in practice when fans are watching, so he can hit 500-foot blasts. Interestingly, physicists say a corked bat is a disadvantage in terms of power because the cork absorbs some of the impact instead of returning it to the ball.
There is a slight decrease in force (mass) and a slight increase in velocity. So it will hit it wlth a little less force but since you can swing the bat a little faster, your hit percentage will go up a little (in theory). All of the advantages/disadvantages are small. But unless your homers are only borderline homeruns, then the loss in force doesn't matter. If your hitting it into the terrace then it will still be a HR even with less force. But if you are making contact with more balls, then your total HRs will be higher. Not because of an icrease in force, but an increase in available hits.
I lost interest in Pro ball a long time ago. I'd like to believe Sosa made a mistake, but something's telling me he intentionally grabbed that bat. He had to know what it looked like and it didn't seem like he was rushed to the plate or anything.
I can believe Sammy's story about having the one corked bat to thrill the fans during batting practice. I do believe that he picked up the corked bat on purpose because he was in a big slump coming of the disabled list. He has broken a lot of bats in the past and none of them were corked but he gambled that he could get away with it at least one time and lost. Sosa did stand up and take his medicene like a man and I think the 8 game suspension is too harsh. Three games would be fair. Roberto Alomar got less for spitting on an umpire. As far as what physicists say about the effectiveness of corked bats throw that out the window. If a player thinks that a corked bat will help him then that is what he believes. Baseball players are not physicists. The only thing that doesn't make sense is the "it was my BP bat" excuse. Why use something that is LIGHTER in BP. Wouldn't you want to work on timing, bat speed, etc. with a heavier bat in practice so that you feel faster in a game?[/QUOTE I am sure that Sammy Sosa knows that swinging a heavier bat with a doughnut on it right before you step up to the plate makes your bat feel lighter and he does that in the on deck circle. He is also a very popular public figure and he enjoys hitting the moon shots in pregame BP to excite the fans in Wrigley.
I agree that Sosa is a cheater. But baseball hardly needs that egotistical chest beating, steroid-made freak who compares himself to Jesus and thinks he defeated the Al Q.
