Sosa's corked bat

[shellman54]

ok, what do ya'll think? personally, i believe the man, i think it was his batting prac bat, and he just grabbed the wrong one.

[Vrabird]

I think they should still suspend him no matter who he is. You can't tell me that he didn't know the difference in his bats.If he uses it in these home run competitions for money and prizes, I don't this is fair either. He should not get a reduced suspension just because he is SOSA!!! What's fair for one is fair for all.

[shellman54]

oh, i agree totally, accident or not, he should be suspended. i just don't think that he uses a corked bat during games, home run competitions, or anything of that sort purposely. i mean, if he knew it was corked, why did he run by it when it was laying on the field, instead of picking it up and taking it with him? a good actor, maybe?

[vet93]

Even if he had picked up the pieces the umpire would have wanted to examine the splinters before he could take them away. I think that this is standard procedure. I would also ask the question...why would you have a corked practice bat. What advantage would that give you in practice if you can't use it in the game. I want to believe Sosa really bad because he seems like such a nice guy but I am having a real hard time right now.

[shellman54]

alot of fans come to the park early to watch batting practice, so i guess as an added show for them, he used the corked bat to get more distance on his home runs, so the fans wouldn't be bored by rinky-dink hits. i think sosa is a good guy, which is hard for me because i'm an avid astros fan, and even though he should be suspended, i don't believe this should taint how he has performed thus far in his career.

[Vrabird]

Well I'm an avid Astro fan also, but I've seen Sosa hit a couple of homers off the lights in left field and the glass of the closed roof at Minute Maid Park. Kinda makes you wonder now if those balls were powered by only his Amdro enhanced upper body????????

[shellman54]

yeah, it does. i really kinda in the middle about the whole performance enhancing drugs issue, part of me wants to say that they are not used by many people, and part of me wants to say that the majority does. heck, i spend my fair share of time in the weightroom, and i don't look anything close to what professional athletes look like.

[Keith7]

Have you seen how sosa is built??? You can't tell me he couldnt hit the ball that for with a Corked bat or not.. Maybe I've watched too much espn, but i remember when another corked bat incident happened a few years ago and they were talking about how it may not even effect that distance the ball will travel... IF Sosa has used Corked bats all the years his home run total probobly wouldnt change very dramatically, maybe 63 Home runs instead of 66 in a season

[dog eat dog]

Slammin Sammy is not the only one using a corked bat! there has to be more professional baseball players trying to get an edge. I don't blame him for trying to do so either. picthers scuff balls, throw spit balls and tons of other things to try and get an advantage. the only reason we fail to see it is because we have these big power hitters who hit 50 homers a year after year. just like the rest of you i belive he should be suspended.

[QBKilla]

ESPN just stated today that the ball only carries 1% farther off the corked bat than off of a normal one. That makes a 400 foot HR a 404 foot homer. Big whoop. I believe him. Keep slammin' Sammy.(just not on the Astros)

40

[Gobbla2001]

The cork itself has nothing to do with the distance the ball travels... The wood being removed from the center of the bat gives you a lighter bat, meaning you can swing it harder (believe the difference in weight is around an ounce and a half or a half ounce, forget which one)... You say 'well an ounce wouldn't make that big of difference' OH yah, it does, that's why the UIL had set regulations on the weight of high school bats used, this may have also taken place in college (not too sure, but it might have...)...

Now, do I believe Sammy? Dang straight... And it really doesn't matter if Sammy knew that the Umps would investigate the bat if he had gone to pick it up himself, he prolly did, but if you were to break your illegally corked bat, would the first thought in your head be 'hey, the ump's gunna pick it up anyway' or would you say 'oh crap I better get that...'?

Second: Seeing how the freeze frames seconds before his at-bat showed the bat and revealed that it was obviously corked from the outside, I have come to the conclusion that Sammy Sosa is not stupid enough to come to the plate with an obviously corked bat... The bat didn't show a sign of being sanded to cover up the corking or anything...

Bats from home run derbies that Sosa had competed in along with other bats used by Sosa in game etc... were sold to baseball card companies, shreaded down and were in one way or the other mounted to special edition baseball cards... Don't you think if these people would have discovered corking in the bats that they would have let the cat out of the bag already?

He's a mule, if you wanna question the bombs you've seen him drop at Enron or Minute Maid (whatever) then question Bagwell, Hildalgo and the rest of the long-ball Astros who have shattered glass and hit trains night in night out...

I believe you Sammy!

[Gobbla2001]

PS. Who cares if he used a cork bat during the Home Run Derbies and the exhibition games, IT'S LEGAL... If he won because he was the only one with a corked bat, TOO BAD SO SAD, the others should have used one... Now, I didn't here all of this stuff about the corked bat increasing distance by about 1%, but if so, he STILL would have won the home run derbie because of the fact all of his homers were around 20,000 feet...

Ever since Sammy's return he's been grounding out and fouling like crazy, that's bat-shattering type swings he's been making, how stupid do you think he is? 'Oh, well, I'm not hitting well, I'm hitting off of the side of the bat and off of the top the bat, why don't I get a corked bat so that when my bat breaks during my hitting slump I can get caught'...

Too big of a risk, guys... Give him credit, he's smarter than that...

[Gobbla2001]

PS. Who cares if he used a cork bat during the Home Run Derbies and the exhibition games, IT'S LEGAL... If he won because he was the only one with a corked bat, TOO BAD SO SAD, the others should have used one... Now, I didn't here all of this stuff about the corked bat increasing distance by about 1%, but if so, he STILL would have won the home run derbie because of the fact all of his homers were around 20,000 feet...

Ever since Sammy's return he's been grounding out and fouling like crazy, that's bat-shattering type swings he's been making, how stupid do you think he is? 'Oh, well, I'm not hitting well, I'm hitting off of the side of the bat and off of the top the bat, why don't I get a corked bat so that when my bat breaks during my hitting slump I can get caught'...

Too big of a risk, guys... Give him credit, he's smarter than that...

[Keith7]

I found an interesting subject on Corked bats.. on ESPN.com

Corked bats (http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2003/0604/1563204.html)

[Old Tiger]

I think the excuse is funny, but I believe him on that. He has never really had any problems in MLB.

[dog eat dog]

I could care less if Sammy Sosa or any other major leaguer used a tainted bat. you get 1% of added distance to your ball. all that doesn't matter if you don't make solid contact with the ball.

[shinigdam]

In life....if you cheat, you should be punished. Given Sammy's quick excuse which could and does cast some doubt on intentional use or not.

I say offer him a cup and tell him to take a drug test. If he is clean....the bat incident is probably as he says. If not, we will know everything we need to know about Sammy.