# Dumb Q's re Sosa's corked bat **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-qs-re-sosas-corked-bat/179694 "2003-06-04T21:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-qs-re-sosas-corked-bat/179694/21 "2003-06-05T16:32:34Z")
> [@](#): > > “If I was trying to cheat, why would I clearly label my bat? Why would only one of my bats be tainted?” The problem here is that it makes very little sense to have ONE corked bat and 76 normal ones. Corked bats break more easily because of the alterations done to them. Say Sosa IS a cheat, but that things don’t go down the way they did the other night. Say he just fouls a pitch off and the bat gets a hairline crack in it, which often happens. He’s now out of corked bats. It’d be a stupid and inefficient way to cheat. I mean, I don’t know the guy, he may be an idiot. But even if it’s a built-in excuse, it may be true - and I think the most sensible solution is that he was telling the truth. He DID own up to what happened. I don’t recall Albert Belle doing that. ---
**Author:** ![waddamaroon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@waddamaroon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waddamaroon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-qs-re-sosas-corked-bat/179694/22 "2003-06-05T17:15:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by barbitu8 \* > \*\*Only batting practice is over before the fans are admitted. \*\* My son and I regularly go to the games two hours early to see BP and infield practice. It’s the best time to get a ball or an autograph. If anyone is interested, [here](http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/polling?event_id=278) is an ESPN poll regarding Sammy and his corked bat. ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-qs-re-sosas-corked-bat/179694/23 "2003-06-05T17:22:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ltfire \* > \*\*On the news tonight, a memorabilia dealer or a collector of some sort, had one of Sosa’s bats…don’t remember which milestone bat it was, apparently one of the important ones, and he was shown destroying it by cutting it open. It was clean. \*\* I also saw this on ESPN yesterday. There was a dealer who supplies memorabilia to trading card companies and others and he had the bat which Sosa used to hit his 498th homer. They said that it was live when he was cutting the bat in half. I have tried looking for a cite on ESPN but I can’t find anything. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-qs-re-sosas-corked-bat/179694/24 "2003-06-05T20:27:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yabob \* > **(some stories have been stating that he had a “c” stamped on the end of it)** SportsCenter had a video freeze frame of Sosa at the plate, clearly showing a white C in the indentation at the end of his bat. Whether this was from batting practice or during the game was ambiguous; the event clearly had the presenters in such a tizzy that their discussion wasn’t very clear. I haven’t seen that shot since, either. By the way, anyone who’s interested in this topic should read the book _The Physics of Baseball_ to see why corking bats is a waste of the player’s time. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-qs-re-sosas-corked-bat/179694/25 "2003-06-05T22:42:09Z")
By the way, five Sosa bats from the Hall of Fame were tested. No cork in them, either. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-qs-re-sosas-corked-bat/179694/26 "2003-06-06T00:45:49Z")
> [@](#): > > I can’t imagine why anyone would need “help” hitting a BP fastball out of a place as small as Wrigley. This perpetuates a myth about Wrigley Field. It is NOT a “small” ballpark, as can be seen from a comparison of the dimensions found at [this site](http://baseballguru.com/bbbp1.html). Down the line each way is at least 353. Dead center is 402. The power alleys are relatively short (368), but notice that the size of fair territory is comparable to other major league ballparks, including the one just down the road in St. Louis. Wrigley’s size conception is based on a. relatively small foul territory, and b. the existence of wind blowing “out” during the summer. He should never have HAD a corked bat, for any reason. Stupid. ---
**Author:** ![g8rguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@g8rguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/g8rguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-qs-re-sosas-corked-bat/179694/27 "2003-06-06T00:56:05Z")
Interestingly, over at [ESPN.com](http://ESPN.com), there’s a [blurb](http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/morgan_joe/1563765.html) from Joe Morgan to the effect that he used to use corked bats during BP sometimes, as when it was cold the wooden bats would sting more, and that he actually accidentally used a cork bat once during a game. I wonder how common such a thing is? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-qs-re-sosas-corked-bat/179694.md?page=1)