Say it ain't Sosa!
Sammy Sosa gets caught using a corked bat.
OK, he says that it's a bat he normally uses in batting practice and home run exhibitions. Why Swinging Sammy needs to use a corked bat in batting practice is beyond me, but let's assume for a moment that he is telling the absolute, God's-honest truth here. That it was just an error that brought that illegal bat into a game.
It's not going to make a difference. Sosa could go on to hit 800 home runs in his career, and there will always be a "Yeah, but.." when talking about his achievement. People will wonder how many of his blasts were assisted. Some will outright accuse him of cheating.
Which is a damn shame. Sosa is one of baseball's best players, and one hell of a nice guy. During the great single-season record chase between him and Mark McGwire a few years back, his sense of humor and never-fading smile became a fixture on the news. When McGwire hit #62 against the Cubs, Sammy was the first person to race in to congratulate him.
I wish there was a way to wash this away, but there isn't one that I can see.
Y'know, were I big leaguer, and I had modified bats for batting practice, those bats would be bright orange, or have "Batting Practice ONLY! CORKED!!" on the barrel. And I'd make damn sure that my BP bats never got close to my game bats.
So now MLB has confiscated several of Sosa's bats, and will dissect them to see if any others are modified. Sammy will be fined and suspended for a few games. And in the end, this one incident is going to darken his entire career.
OK, he says that it's a bat he normally uses in batting practice and home run exhibitions. Why Swinging Sammy needs to use a corked bat in batting practice is beyond me, but let's assume for a moment that he is telling the absolute, God's-honest truth here. That it was just an error that brought that illegal bat into a game.
It's not going to make a difference. Sosa could go on to hit 800 home runs in his career, and there will always be a "Yeah, but.." when talking about his achievement. People will wonder how many of his blasts were assisted. Some will outright accuse him of cheating.
Which is a damn shame. Sosa is one of baseball's best players, and one hell of a nice guy. During the great single-season record chase between him and Mark McGwire a few years back, his sense of humor and never-fading smile became a fixture on the news. When McGwire hit #62 against the Cubs, Sammy was the first person to race in to congratulate him.
I wish there was a way to wash this away, but there isn't one that I can see.
Y'know, were I big leaguer, and I had modified bats for batting practice, those bats would be bright orange, or have "Batting Practice ONLY! CORKED!!" on the barrel. And I'd make damn sure that my BP bats never got close to my game bats.
So now MLB has confiscated several of Sosa's bats, and will dissect them to see if any others are modified. Sammy will be fined and suspended for a few games. And in the end, this one incident is going to darken his entire career.
