I realize that. At the same time, Nettles was a very popular and likeable player – like Sosa – and people didn’t obsess about it like they have with the Sosa incident.
I agree. That’s why all this press is so strange. If he used a corked bat, why is that such a big issue when people like Whitey Ford, Gaylord Perry, and Don Sutton got into the Hall of Fame by doctoring the baseball. Perry was suspended for it, but it didn’t raise the fuss Sosa did. And a doctored baseball (whether by spit, sandpaper, or KY Jelly) is going to help the pitcher a lot more than a corked bat will help the batter.
Of course, ultimately, no matter what you do to the bat, you still have to make contact with it.