As if baseball didn't suck ass enough already....

Kelgar · Post by **Kelgar** » June 4, 2003, 12:58 am

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=230603116

Sammy Sosa, arguably one of the most liked personalities in the game pulls this out of his ass.

noel · Post by **noel** » June 4, 2003, 1:06 am

I'm sure he had no idea what bat he was using.

Krurk · Post by **Krurk** » June 4, 2003, 1:13 am

I dunno what was worse, the corked bat or the fact that he used it against the Rays....

Toshira · Post by **Toshira** » June 4, 2003, 1:39 am

Can't trust darkies~

Owenn · Post by **Owenn** » June 4, 2003, 3:41 am

It will be fun to see if all of his other bats in the dugout that were confiscated by MLB were "corked" or not.

Addecus_Subtractucus · Post by **Addecus_Subtractucus** » June 4, 2003, 3:51 am

This may open up another can of worms but:

1. Have you had a look at sosa? I dont think he needs a corked bat to blast the ball....his large muscles do that for him.

2. He didnt even make a move to pick up the bat.....why? because he didnt even know he was using it.

3. To all those naysayers....im sure its just a conspiracy....hes 3 for like 23 in his last few games...you have to put the bat on the ball to get a hit, cork aint going to help with that.

That being said.....i think this will blow over real soon...just an unlucky happenstance.

Trek · Post by **Trek** » June 4, 2003, 4:18 am

Addecus_Subtractucus wrote:This may open up another can of worms but:

1. Have you had a look at sosa? I dont think he needs a corked bat to blast the ball....his large muscles do that for him.

2. He didnt even make a move to pick up the bat.....why? because he didnt even know he was using it.

3. To all those naysayers....im sure its just a conspiracy....hes 3 for like 23 in his last few games...you have to put the bat on the ball to get a hit...

First, if his muscles do it for him, he doesnt need it to put a show on for fans. Second, he was hoping no one would notice, ask ANY ball player, they know which bat is their game bat and which is for BP. Your third is just plain stupid for you to rationalize that way, if he is in a slump that is a very good reason to use a corked bat, anything to help get out of the slump.

As far as the conspiracy bit, WTF are you talking about?

Baglaz · Post by **Baglaz** » June 4, 2003, 4:35 am

He really had a good rep and was really one of the game's bigger stars like Kelgar said, but he really just fucked himself with this shit. People are always gonna wonder now if all the home runs he's hit have been with corked bats or not, just like they did with Albert Belle. Sammy probably kissed his shot at the Hall Of Fame goodbye with this.

Addecus_Subtractucus · Post by **Addecus_Subtractucus** » June 4, 2003, 4:40 am

Trek wrote:
Addecus_Subtractucus wrote:This may open up another can of worms but:

1. Have you had a look at sosa? I dont think he needs a corked bat to blast the ball....his large muscles do that for him.

2. He didnt even make a move to pick up the bat.....why? because he didnt even know he was using it.

3. To all those naysayers....im sure its just a conspiracy....hes 3 for like 23 in his last few games...you have to put the bat on the ball to get a hit...
First, if his muscles do it for him, he doesnt need it to put a show on for fans. Second, he was hoping no one would notice, ask ANY ball player, they know which bat is their game bat and which is for BP. Your third is just plain stupid for you to rationalize that way, if he is in a slump that is a very good reason to use a corked bat, anything to help get out of the slump.

As far as the conspiracy bit, WTF are you talking about?

Umm......what are you talking about?

I feel he IS putting on a show for the fans. Being one of the most reconizable and marketable players in the last 10 years, he obviously needs to come back hot from his injury. HOWEVER, I believe that he does NOT require a corked bat to impress fans. The last few years of 40 50 plus homeruns evidence this. His slump would not be aided by a corked bat, as the cork provides more energy to a hit ball, not aiding his obvious strikeout problem. As said by Tim McClelland the home plate umpire, the amount of cork was almost negligible and was only one one side of the bat.....which is usually the practice for corked PRACTICE bats.

Oh, and hoping nobody would notice? check the last few players to use a corked bat; Albert Belles teamate jason grimsley went so far as to steal the corked bat from the umpires locker and other players have neglected to run to first to rush out and grab the corked bat shards. When a bat shatters, everyone notices.

I also respect how hes taken responsibility for his action, regardless of wether he meant to or not. He hasnt tried to blame anyone and I think that he will double his efforts now that he has had this setback

Oh...and about the conspiracy....i was being sarcastic...sorry you missed it...but its gone now.

Baglaz · Post by **Baglaz** » June 4, 2003, 4:54 am

The only thing corking a bat does is make the sweet spot bigger..aka...hit more like an aluminum bat.

He's ruined his baseball legacy of hitting home runs all the time since people will always wonder.

backflips_with_blades · Post by **backflips_with_blades** » June 4, 2003, 5:07 am

I'm here not as a casual EQ player but as a representative of the common baseball fan. Sammy Sosa broke the rules tonight by batting in an official game with an illegally altered bat. I don't like the fact that one of the games more respected, revered, and highly feared players was caught using a corked bat. And I feel that he should be punished for doing so. However, to throw him out of the game altogether... well it's just absurd. Anyone who has had delusions of such a thing ever happening needs to stop reading now and go out and find themselves a clue.

First of all, let me point out that - in terms of physics - a corked bat offers no boost in power to an MLB hitter. Let me assure everyone that each and every one of Sosa's 505 homeruns were legitimate.

Follow along ladies and gentlemen: F=MA

Force = Mass x Accelleration

The force is the power aspect, how far and high Sosa can drive the ball.
The mass is the weight of the bat.
The accelleration is how quickly Sosa can bring the bat through the strike zone.

If you remove a certain ammount of weight from the bat, in order to acheive a greater accelleration through the zone, you do no greatly affect the force that strikes the ball (if there is an effect at all).

The increase in accelleration, however, allowed him to catch up to the fastballs that pitchers had been tossing him since his return from the toe injury a few games ago, in order to compensate for his lessened bat speed and put an end to his recent strikeout woes. Sammy must have been pretty frustrated with all those K's, because that's why he turned to a corked bat, not for added power. (which as I have said, a corked bat does NOT supply)

Sosa makes his own power with those bigass muscles of his (though how he got them we can still only speculate), not with some dead plant stuffed into a bat. Anyone who doesn't beleive that can just write Sammy a letter asking for a first-hand demonstration, I'm sure he'd be more than glad to do so... if you would just leave your name and address.

And PS, to whoever the little boy was that said baseball sucks. You're dead wrong. The game of baseball means more than you ever will.

Maybe you were refering to Major League Baseball?

-Shawn

backflips_with_blades · Post by **backflips_with_blades** » June 4, 2003, 5:33 am

Baglaz wrote:He really had a good rep and was really one of the game's bigger stars like Kelgar said, but he really just fucked himself with this shit. People are always gonna wonder now if all the home runs he's hit have been with corked bats or not, just like they did with Albert Belle. Sammy probably kissed his shot at the Hall Of Fame goodbye with this.

Hah, I think not. Sammy will not only get into the Hall of Fame, but he will do it in the first balloting he is elligible for. You see... baseball is a game of statistics, and even if he never hits a homerun again, he is virtually guaranteed a jacket and a bust in the hall because he is in a club that is more exclusive than the 300 win club, and everyone know what I'm talking about. More likely, however, he will get to the 600-700 HR range and rank somewhere between 5th-2nd all time in that category.

By the way, in case you were thinking that this bat corking crap was such a travesty, you should hear about some actual cheating that took place in the MLB.

Whitey Ford, Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton

All three with 300 wins, all in the hall of fame. All three very big cheats. They had physician doctorate degrees in ball tampering. In fact, Perry owes nearly his entire pro career to vasaline.

Things like this happened more often prior to the era of the homerun, beleive it or not.

Think I'm kidding?

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/cheater ... ayers.html

Zamtuk · Post by **Zamtuk** » June 4, 2003, 6:23 am

ruh roh raggy

Karae · Post by **Karae** » June 4, 2003, 6:52 am

backflips_with_blades wrote:
Let me assure everyone that each and every one of Sosa's 505 homeruns were legitimate.

That's only true if you consider steroid use a legitimate means of obtaining a competetive advantage. Personally I'd be a lot more concerned with his obvious steroid use than a little cork in a bat.

The true significance of this event is that it's another PR disaster for a sport that has already suffered several. The popularity of baseball is at an all-time low and it only continues to slide with incidents like this continually popping up. Ah well...least it makes an otherwise boring sport moderately interesting.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » June 4, 2003, 7:37 am

Well Sosa has shattered a lot of bats before and this is the first one that's had cork in it as far as I know so I'd be inclined to believe him when he said it was an accident.

Although frankly corking your bat is a lesser infraction than roiding yourself out like Ivan fucking Drago. Allowing players to use steroids to build muscle so they can hit more home runs and get more fans watching will give you more long hits than corking will.

He should still be suspended for breaking the rules though.

Maaurius · Post by **Maaurius** » June 4, 2003, 8:08 am

Baseball??? Didn't that used to be a sport back in the 50's???

I do have a hard time believing that he didn't know which bat was his game bat.... but who knows.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » June 4, 2003, 8:11 am

I hear that backflips_with_blades has springs mounted in his sneakers!

A big *yawn* about that baseball controversy. This thing reaks of a made up publicity stunt to try and get people to watch games to see what will happen next.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » June 4, 2003, 9:51 am

I'm not a huge Sosa fan, but it is a good point that the man breaks plenty of bats...and this one happens to have been corked? I'll believe him. He has a good rep with me and other baseball fans.

And backflips_with_blades, stats alone do not mean everything when getting into the hall of fame...Here is a name for you: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Now see if you can follow my equation:

Great Stats + Controversy = No hall of fame bid

Vaemas · Post by **Vaemas** » June 4, 2003, 10:02 am

Suspend him for using the corked in game. No one will ever know if he used corked bats during his home run sprees, but who really cares? Doubt it was intentional otherwise he'd have probably freaked when the bat broke. If he's smart though, he won't use another corked bat again, even in practice.

Xyphir · Post by **Xyphir** » June 4, 2003, 10:29 am

Kluden wrote:...stats alone do not mean everything when getting into the hall of fame...Here is a name for you: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Now see if you can follow my equation:

Great Stats + Controversy = No hall of fame bid

Joe Jackson admitted to taking money to fix a world series. It wasn't just controversy... it was scandal. He was perma-banned from baseball for the infraction. He was part of almost an entire team (8) that threw the world series... and got caught. Jackson was probably destined to follow in Ty Cobb's footsteps of being one of the most feared hitters in baseball, and threw it all away. He may have played his heart out in the series, but he still took the money.

More and more, stats do not determine whether someone gets into Cooperstown. Look at the some active hitters that may be eligable. Rafael Palmero and Fred McGriff both are approaching 500 home runs, and I'd be extremely surprised to see either of them make the cut. Both have posted numbers by playing consistent baseball. Sammy Sosa, at his current pace, will make the hall... corked bat not withstanding. What's interesting to see is the two faces of Sammy. Last year, he volunteered to be the first in line for drug testing, but when confronted with actually taking the test by the media, he snapped.

You don't have to look much further than Luis Gonzalez for evidence of some performance enhancing stimulus. Look at his career prior to 2001. I've seen pictures of Gonzo prior to 2001 and he's A LOT smaller. Sammy is probably no different. Players are always looking for that extra edge. Mark Macguire used performance enhancing suppliments, but are his HRs questionable? Barry Bonds trains his ass off in the off-season, but he's freakishly more powerful than he was when he played in Pittsburgh. Drug testing in MLB is past due for the welfare of the players.

Deward · Post by **Deward** » June 4, 2003, 10:41 am

Baseball blows who really cares anymore about a bunch of whiny players. I say let them use corked bats. It might make the game more exciting. Half the players are probably using Roids anyway so what does a little cork matter.

I gave up on baseball a long time ago. I still watch the little kids at the local junior high.

Football > Golf > Baseball

XunilTlatoani · Post by **XunilTlatoani** » June 4, 2003, 11:05 am

I'll preface this saying I am a huge Cubs fan. In fact, I was just at Wrigley Field for last Sunday's loss to the Astros.

I believe that Sammy's story is BS. I believe that the corked bat's purpose is for hitting homers during exhibition situations, and that that is the only corked bat he has. However, the story that it was an accident is just not believable.

Sammy just came off the DL, and for whatever reason he didn't take a rehab assignment in the minors. He comes back for the Houston series and looks rediculous. The fans gave him a standing ovation in last saturday's marathon game when he grounded out because he had struck out 5 times before that in the game. I bet that the winning RBI single he scored in that game was a corked bat too. We come to yesterday's Devil Rays game, and he's still struggling. There's an RBI situation again that could help the team, so he pulls out ol' corky.

Sammy is a very good person, and also a sensitive guy. Getting booed and getting standing O's for grounding out hurt him. The media in this town is also all over his poor performance (talking about trading him, that he's washed up, yadda yadda). The corked bat seemed like a good idea to get the fans back on his side, and it backfired in the worst way.

We'll never know how long he's been using the corked bat in game, but my feeling is that it has been a recent addition because of his slumping and injuries. It would have been better for him if he admitted this instead of making up a rediculous story about accidentally picking up the corked bat.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » June 4, 2003, 11:24 am

I'd like to think I know a lot of people throughout a wide variety of ages and social/economic backgrounds. I can honestly say I cannot recall a single person ever being a baseball fan, or even caring that the sport existed. Whatever importance/impact baseball once had on America, it's well past it's prime. You might as well be talking about underwater basketweaving.

Having said that, the only thing of remote interest was the Sosa & McGuire home run race. That quickly faded, but it's odd that one of the only 2 people in baseball I reckognize is possibly a cheat. That's pretty funny if you don't care about baseball.

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » June 4, 2003, 11:24 am

Worst part of this is Sammy is on my fantasy team, and is going to get like a 7 day suspension.

sunavabitch!

anyways, ESPN clearly showed that the end of the bat was marked with a white "C".

now if he had corked a bat to use in a game, why would he put a big "C" for CORK RIGHT HERE UNDER THIS C, BUT DONT LOOK, on it?

so i think that his explanation does make sense.

sports analysts are talking all kinds of stuff about how this will tarnish his reputation. it won't.

people like Sammy Sosa, and when people like a celebrity, they let small stuff slide.

and when people dont like a star (Albert Belle), they remember the shit and use it to further justify their hatred for the dude.

Post by **Xouqoa** » June 4, 2003, 11:30 am

Voronwë wrote:people like Sammy Sosa, and when people like a celebrity, they let small stuff slide.

and when people dont like a star (Albert Belle), they remember the shit and use it to further justify their hatred for the dude.

Correct! Albert Belle is/was an asshole, not a fun loving guy like Sammy. Nobody really liked Albert Belle, everyone loves Sammy. He'll be fine. I believe it was an honest mistake.

Axien_Dellusions · Post by **Axien_Dellusions** » June 4, 2003, 12:13 pm

Why is it when there is a phenominal hitter in the major leagues everyone thinks they are cheating? When Mark McGuire went on his run with Sosa in '98 they accused him of using performance enhancing drugs?

I'm almost positive he grabbed the wrong bat by mistake. He's a great player and wouldn't jeopardize his hall of ame run by cheating.

Xyphir · Post by **Xyphir** » June 4, 2003, 1:10 pm

Axien_Dellusions wrote:Why is it when there is a phenominal hitter in the major leagues everyone thinks they are cheating? When Mark McGuire went on his run with Sosa in '98 they accused him of using performance enhancing drugs?

He admitted to using creatine and andro. After it was apparent to him he was becoming a role-model, he stopped using the suppliments. Andro assists the body in the creation of testosterone, so it is considered a performance enhancing drug, even though you can buy it over the counter at your local GNC.

Axien_Dellusions · Post by **Axien_Dellusions** » June 4, 2003, 1:21 pm

Sorry to clarify this. To me performance enhancing drugs are steroids. If you can buy it over the counter it's legal.

Same with the scandal that was surrounding Lance Armstrong last year when he won another Tour de France. They were asking if he used steroids. The only chemical found in his body that wasn't natural was chemo-therapy. Some people are just born talents and others just make dumb mistakes like Sosa did last night.

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » June 4, 2003, 1:37 pm

How much longer is it until Football season?

Karae · Post by **Karae** » June 4, 2003, 3:50 pm

Axien_Dellusions wrote:Sorry to clarify this. To me performance enhancing drugs are steroids. If you can buy it over the counter it's legal.

I truly dislike semantic debates, but a performance enhancing drug is a drug that enhances your performance. The 'supplements' McGwire was using fall into this category. They were more than simply high protein supplements, they altered his body chemicals. Androstene is a steroid.

People don't gain 40 lbs. of muscle in one summer on their own. Anytime you see someone bulk up overnight like McGwire or Sosa you can rest assured steroid use is the reason. Anyone who has spent anytime training knows this.

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » June 4, 2003, 4:55 pm

A few points to point out.

1) He openly admitted to using a corked bat during BP "to please the fans" (his exact words)

2) A corked bat gives you the power of a heavy bat and the swing speed of a light bat (dont know if this has been stated or not)

3) You can definatly tell the difference between a corked bat and your normal bat.

He got busted, he knew damn well he was screwed. He just fucked himself over big time.

Post by **Xouqoa** » June 4, 2003, 4:57 pm

McGwire was a pretty big guy his whole career. I don't know the specifics or anything, but he's just... BIG. I'm sure the stuff he was taking helped out a lot, but I think the effects might have been exaggerated perhaps.

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » June 4, 2003, 5:04 pm

Soreali wrote:A few points to point out.

2) A corked bat gives you the power of a heavy bat and the swing speed of a light bat (dont know if this has been stated or not)

it actually gives you less power, but more bat speed. the kinetic energy of the bat essentially varies with the mass and square of the velocity. but lets say the increase in bat velocity is small (which in this case it is), then you are going to see a decrease in the amount of energy generated by the swing.

Sosa has always been able to get around on a fastball, so that is the only thing a corked bat would help somebody with.

CNN had a physicist from Yale on today who has been a consultant for MLB regarding bat corking and other 'mechanical' issues.

Sabek · Post by **Sabek** » June 4, 2003, 5:09 pm

That same guy was on the Tony Bruno radio show today.
He basically said corked takes about 3 ft off of the length of a hit, but helps you get the bat around faster so you will get more hits.

noel · Post by **noel** » June 4, 2003, 5:26 pm

Axien_Dellusions wrote:Sorry to clarify this. To me performance enhancing drugs are steroids. If you can buy it over the counter it's legal.

Same with the scandal that was surrounding Lance Armstrong last year when he won another Tour de France. They were asking if he used steroids. The only chemical found in his body that wasn't natural was chemo-therapy. Some people are just born talents and others just make dumb mistakes like Sosa did last night.

Ummm...

Lance hasn't undergone chemo for over 4 years now. Additionally, the FUCKING French ask that all the time because, very frankly, their submissions to the Tour (the grand tour of their own country) suck ass, and they'd like nothing better than for Lance to be found guilty of doping. He's probably the most tested athlete in the entire world at the moment, and he has never tested positive for anything. He's one of the very few cyclists that trains year round, and has made the statement several times that he hasn't been off the bike for more than two days in years.

Additionally, cyclists don't take steroids, they take drugs to increase their red blood cell count, and to increase their ability to process oxygen/increase their endurance. Steroids (generally) make you bigger, and being bigger is the last thing a professional cyclist wants. For the record, Lance weighed 154lbs. at the start of last year's tour.

Raistin · Post by **Raistin** » June 4, 2003, 8:49 pm

Dumb fuck said something along these lines

Mcgwire cheated. He used normal weight lifting items over the summer, and during baseball season..

Have a look at what he did though the years he played. He didnt fucking become muscle man over night.He sure learned how to hit the ball, all over one summer with items from GNC!

Had 1st major league hit on 24 Aug vs. the Yankees Tommy John (1986)
Hit 1st home run on 25 Aug 1986 off Walt Terrel, Detroit Tigers (1986)
Holds record for home runs for a rookie season with 49 (1987)
Holds record for extra bases on long hits for a rookie season with 183 (1987)
Holds record for highest slugging percentage for an A.L. rookie season with .618 (1987)
Was second player in history to be selected unanimously as Rookie of the Year (1987)
Was first rookie ever to hit 30 home runs before the All-Star Break (1987)
Was first rookie ever to hit 5 home runs in two-consecutive games (1987)
Broke the Oakland Athletics home run and RBI record with 47 home runs and 118 RBIs (1987)
Hit 39th home run on 14 Aug 1987, breaking the 57 year-old rookie season home run record (1987)
Hit 49th home run on 04 Oct 1987, setting highest rookie season home run mark (1987)
Tied record for most home runs in 2 consecutive games with 5 on 27/28 JUN 1987 and 10/11 JUN 1995
Tied Andre Dawson for Major League HR lead with 49 (1987)
Named to the A.L. All-Star Team (1987)
Hit 1st career Grand Slam on 11 Aug 1988 off of Dwayne Buice of the California Angels (1988)
Hit game winning home run off Jay Howell in 9th inning of Game 3 in the World Series (1988)
Named to the A.L. All-Star Team (1988)
Reached 100 home runs in 2nd fewest ABs in history (1989)
Hit 100th home run on 05 Jul 1989 off Charlie Liebrandt, Kansas City Royals (1989)
Led Athletics with 33 home runs (1989)
Led A.L. with one home run every 14.8 AB's (1989)
Member of the 1989 World Series Champion Oakland Athletics (1989)
Named to the A.L. All-Star Team (1989)
Led Athletics in RBIs with 108 (1990)
Led Athletics in games played with 156 (1990)
Led the Major Leagues in walks with 110 (1990)
Won A.L. Golden Glove Award at 1B (1990)
Named to the A.L. All-Star Team (1990)
Was only player in history to hit 30+ home runs each of his first 4 seasons (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990)
Named to the A.L. All-Star Team (1991)
Hit 200th home run on 10 JUN 1992 off Chris Bosio, Milwaukee Brewers (1992)
Won UPI A.L. Comback Player of the Year Award (1992)
Won A.L. Silver Slugger Award at 1B (1992)
Led the major leagues averaging one home run every 11.1 ABs (1992)
Led the A.L. with a .585 slugging percentage (1992)
Won the Home Run Derby with 12 Home Runs (1992)
Named to The Sporting News and UPI All-Star teams (1992)
Named by UPI as the Comeback Player of the Year (1992)
Led the Athletics with 104 RBIs (1992)
Led the Athletics with 29 multi-RBI games (1992)
Hit a Home Run at least once verse every A.L. team (1992)
Named to the A.L. All-Star Team (1992)
Won the Home Run Derby (1992)
Season total of 9 homeruns was the 2nd best in history for a player in 100 or fewer at-bats (1993)
One of two players in history to have more RBIs than Hits (1995)
His 39 home run season total were most ever by a player with fewer than 392 at-bats (1995)
Average home run distance of 418 feet was best in the majors (1995)
Led Athletics with 90 RBIs (1995)
Had a career-high 18-game hitting streak from 5/3 to 5/21 (1995)
Hit 269th home run of his career on 9/14 vs Kansas City breaking Oakland's career club record (1995)
Hit 300th home run on 25 JUN 1996 off Omar Olivares, Detroit Tigers (1996)
Holds Oakland Athletics record for home runs in a season with 52 (1996)
Holds Oakland Athletics record for Slugging % in a season with .730 (1996)
Holds Oakland Athletics record for On Base % in a season with .467 (1996)
Won Silver Slugger Award at 1B (1996)
Set record for lowest single season ABs per home run with one every 8.13 ABs (1996)
Hit a home run at least once a series in 20 consecutive series's (1996)
Tied record for most home runs in an inning with 2 (1996)
Hit a league leading 52 home runs, the most hit since 1977 (1996)
Was 14th player in history to hit 50 or more home runs in a season (1996)
Only player to hit 50 home runs and play in fewer than 140 games (1996)
Led majors in slugging percentage with .730 (1996)
Led majors in on-base percentage with .467 (1996)
Led Athletics in BA with .312 (1996)
Had career high 116 BBs (1996)
Had career high 104 Runs (1996)
Had three doubles in a game tying an A's club record (1996)
Named to the Silver Slugger Team (1996)
Named American League Player of the Month for June (1996)
Name to the Associated Press All-Star Team (1996)
Set Athletics record by reaching base in each of his first 48 games and 62 straight dating back to 9/16/95 (1996)
Hit the 9000th home run in Athletics history on 5/28 vs. Boston (1996)
Broke Athletics career record by driving in his 790th career run on 6/16 at Milwaukee (1996)
Named American League Player of the Month in June (1996)
Broke Athletics career home run record on 7/2 with his 303rd career home run (1996)
Hit his 30th home run on 13 July at Texas giving him seven 30-homer seasons, tying Foxx's all-time A's record (1996)
Got his 1000th career hit on 7/22 at Chicago off Tapani (1996)
Hit 40th home run 8/12 vs. Minnesota, making him and Foxx the only two Athletics with three 40-homer seasons (1996)
Hit his 40th in his 294th AB breaking Ruth's record for fewest ABs to 40 homers (1996)
Broke Reggie Jackson's Coliseum career home run record of 144 on 8/18 vs. Baltimore (1996)
Hit a home run at least twice against every team (1996)
Holds career Oakland Athletics home run record with 363 (1986-1997)
Holds career Oakland Athletics RBI record with 941 (1986-1997)
Holds career Oakland Athletics Extra Base hits with 563 (1986-1997)
Holds career Oakland Athletics Slugging % with .551 (1986-1997)
Tied with Jimmie Foxx and Sam Chapman with nine career grand slams for an Athletic (1997)
Holds record for most home runs hit in a month by an Athletic with 11 in April (1997)
First player to hit a home run off of the Jacobs Field Scoreboard (1997)

Putting 100% in to something, and working your body to its fullest isnt cheating.Its called earning your 60+million dollar contract.After being released by the A's while being disabled and out for pretty much of 2 years. One would work his ass off and be in the the best shape of his life.

Weight:225- 250 lbs. *Diffrent sources all range in this area.*
Height: 6'5

I dont know about you. But I know tons of 6'5 people around the 200lb area. Throw in the fact he weight lifts,runs, sprints, and cardo excersice no FUCKING WONDER HIS BODY MASS IS GOOD.

http://www.mcgwire.com/stats.html

Look at his college years, At bats and Home runs.He was a hard hitter way back then before his sudden boost of cheating chemicals.

Look at games played, home runs, and at bats.His second year alone in the majors he had 49 home runs.

Whatever you peice of worthless shit. Glad you threw in your 2 pennies worth of common sense.

Trek · Post by **Trek** » June 4, 2003, 9:23 pm

Since 76 of Sosa's bats are cork free I must concede that it was most likely a mistake, being a fan of baseball I am glad to hear these results.

noel · Post by **noel** » June 4, 2003, 9:42 pm

Trek wrote:Since 76 of Sosa's bats are cork free I must concede that it was most likely a mistake, being a fan of baseball I am glad to hear these results.

I agree.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » June 4, 2003, 9:48 pm

I liked Chris Sabo's reaction when he got busted. He just sat back, smiled and shrugged.

Phil Neikro(sp), Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton still get my vote for baseball cheating, although the Albert Belle "bat-switch" controversy and Wilton Guerrerro running to the mound to pick up shards of his corked bat in lieu of running out the play to first are up there too.

Trek · Post by **Trek** » June 5, 2003, 1:30 am

Wow just saw an interview with Jose Canseco about this on ESPN, its now clear to me that its a completely racial thing, if it was Big Mac that had a corked bat no one would care because he is white, but because Sammy is black and latin he is a target....never mind that he is the most popular guy in baseball.

Anyone have a poster of the homerun that bounced off Canseco's head? I want to hang it on my wall

XunilTlatoani · Post by **XunilTlatoani** » June 5, 2003, 10:52 am

Trek wrote:Since 76 of Sosa's bats are cork free I must concede that it was most likely a mistake, being a fan of baseball I am glad to hear these results.

I still think its more likely he has one bat to pull out when he's desperate for an edge, and the BP story is just a convenient cover-up that fits the situation.

Regardless, I don't think that the corked bat really gives much of an edge, except psychologically.

Midnyte_Ragebringer · Post by **Midnyte_Ragebringer** » June 5, 2003, 10:59 am

Toshira wrote:Can't trust darkies~

Tosh??? lol

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » June 5, 2003, 11:05 am

MLB did not get into the Cubs locker room until the 5th inning of that game. So Sosa could have hidden any corked bats (he was ejected in the 1st inning).

Regardless, i think this will blow over.

Corked bats dont help according to tests supposedly.

Joe Morgan (hall of famer from the Reds) also had a corked bat he tried in BP once. He said it didnt help him. He also said he accidentally used it in a game once.

Baglaz · Post by **Baglaz** » June 5, 2003, 1:14 pm

Guys like McGwire, Bonds, Griffey, they dont need drugs to hit the ball hard because they all have/had perfect, short swings. You generate more power with a shorter swing, hence Barry Bonds hitting a home run any time he gets pitched to. Sosa has a real long swing, which is why he strikes out OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS. He needed a way to make his swing faster, so he used a corked bat, got caught, and probably has damaged his rep enough to where he may lose millions in endorsements, and possibly his Hall Of Fame bid.

*~*stragi*~* · Post by ***~*stragi*~*** » June 6, 2003, 4:14 am

Actually, and I have this on good information seeing as my best friend since the second grade's dad plays for the cubs, Sosa did it purposely. Immediately following his ejection he had the people in the clubhouse smuggle his corked bats out. Even if MLB did find anything, baseball is having a lot of bad publicity lately anyhow, they'd just put it to sleep.

Toshira · Post by **Toshira** » June 6, 2003, 5:08 am

Midnyte_Ragebringer wrote:
Toshira wrote:Can't trust darkies~
Tosh??? lol

sarcasm, dear lad...that's all~

Ogbar · Post by **Ogbar** » June 6, 2003, 11:48 am

If you remove a certain ammount of weight from the bat, in order to acheive a greater accelleration through the zone, you do no greatly affect the force that strikes the ball (if there is an effect at all).

My physics (dynamics, acutally) is a bit rusty, so I am not sure how I would solve this problem in regards to looking the forces involved: though I suspect I would use the less simplified definition of force, F=dp/dt, the time rate of change of momentum.

To me, this system is more clearly understood when you look at the energies involved. The ball, travelling from the pitcher, reaches the point of impact with a certain energy, and the bat swinging into the point of impact has a certain energy. After contact, the ball has a new enegy, as does the bat, and by conservation of energy, we have:

E_ball1 + E_bat1 = E_ball2 + E_bat2 +E_lost

Where '1' represents the moment of time just before impact, and '2' represents the moment of time just after impact. Note that a formal treatment of the problem would look the changes in energy during the impact interval, but that aspect really does not add anything to the overall understanding of the problem.

What is important, though, is the last term, E_lost, the energy lost. This manifests itself in a variety of ways, including acoustically (the crack of the bat hitting the ball), but most compellingly in the energy lost to vibration of the bat. How much energy is lost to bat vibrations is a function of where the excitation occurs along the bat. As was alluded to earlier, there is a "sweet spot" on a bat, a location where energy transfered to the bat is far less, and in turn is transfered to the ball, allowing for greater ball flight.

It was said earlier that adding cork to the bat in essense makes the sweet spot on a bat is wider: that is a fairly accurate way to describe the system. With a corked bat, a portion of the energy coupled into the bat is absorbed by cork material. Some of that absorbed energy is lost (heat, etc) but some of it actually re-radiates bact to the ball. The net result is that the E_loss component is smaller with a corked bat, hence more energy is available to the ball, which means greater flight.

Corking a bat most definately makes the ball travel further, all things being equal.

EDIT: I am full of crap - see my post just below. Corking does not have the effect as stated because the reaction time of the cork material is too slow to be of significance.

----

As for Sammy, well, I guess I never thought of him as Hall of Fame material, but I guess his stats are starting to pile up. It will be interesting to see how he is remembered 5 years after his retirement. The Hall is a very fickle place, even when you have stats in your favor. Can you imagine a multi-year Gold Glove winning right fielder, who had one of the most intimidating throwing arms in baseball history, and led the league cumulatively over a ten year period (the 1980s) in runs batted in not being in the Hall of Fame?

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » June 6, 2003, 11:58 am

interesting Oggie, and i agree with your reasoning to some extent.

one thing is that corking a bat changes the mass of the bat, therefore lowers the momentum so that you do not have identical conditions pre-impact with the different bats.

so yes a cork bat may transfer momentum more efficiently than an uncorked bat, but it has less momentum to transfer. So in the end it could very well all be wash. I think it is tough to know without measuring, which i think has been done by a bat manufacturer in Florida.

However, the caveat about corking improving the sweet spot i would like to hear more about if anybody knows anything.

i'll go look

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » June 6, 2003, 12:14 pm

Baglaz wrote:Guys like McGwire, Bonds, Griffey, they dont need drugs to hit the ball hard because they all have/had perfect, short swings. You generate more power with a shorter swing, hence Barry Bonds hitting a home run any time he gets pitched to. Sosa has a real long swing, which is why he strikes out OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS. He needed a way to make his swing faster, so he used a corked bat, got caught, and probably has damaged his rep enough to where he may lose millions in endorsements, and possibly his Hall Of Fame bid.

I have no clue what you just said. I'm too busy laughing at the a lot auto edit. Watching people continually throwing themselves into the woodchipper is a pisser.

Ogbar · Post by **Ogbar** » June 6, 2003, 12:15 pm

I'll be curious to see what you find, Vor. I'll admit I was speaking off the top of my head, but from what I know about energy systems, it seems to make sense. In thinking more about it, I would suspect that the cork makes the bat feel "softer", as the vibrations are less (or rather, not as well reflected at the head end), which may lead to a longer contact interval, which could be the key.

EDIT: Hehe, looks like I was full of crap:

http://library.thinkquest.org/11902/physics/bats.html

So will a corked bat help? Answer is probably no; players nowadays are using light bats anyway so there would be insignificant gain in the hitting performance and significant degradation in the range of a hit ball, making it easier for defense to catch the ball. Also there is a risk of getting caught. Corked bats are inheritantly weaker than standard bats, hence there is a greater chance that the bat will break showing the entire world what kind of player that person is.

So it would seem to be all about the bat speed afterall.

EDIT 2: No, I was REALLY full of crap:

http://www.bostonbaseball.com/whitesox/ ... ysics.html

More significantly:

Well, the springiness of the cork cannot store energy from the pitch, because it takes too much time.

The bottom line is the interaction time is too short to allow the energy to recouple back into the ball: it's already long gone by the time the cork material reacts.

VeeshanVault

As if baseball didn't suck ass enough already....

As if baseball didn't suck ass enough already....

Why does he need a corked bat...

Re: Why does he need a corked bat...

Re: Why does he need a corked bat...

I greet you with hearty lasers!

Re: I greet you with hearty lasers!