Sosa ejected for using a corked bat.

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: LeeTJ

1 mph can be HUGE if it's the difference between PULLING a pitch and going the other way with it.

comeon the difference between a GOOD fast ball pitcher 93 to 94 MPH and a mediocre fastball pitcher 91 to 92 mph is only 1 MPH.

at least do your homework. btw, i don't need links as evidence.

small margins makes ALL the difference on the professional level. it's not like we are talking hackers like me who couldn't hit a 80 mph fastball if my life depended on it. we are talking guys who have worked their whole lives to hit 95 mph fast balls.

does that 1 mph in bat swing make a difference? YES, it's HUGE. i don't care who wrote that paper you quoted, they are plain stupid if they don't think 1 mph makes a big difference.

the difference between a fly ball out and a HR can be as small as 1 inch.

Haha...yeah i expected you to dismiss studies done by experts at the "Baseball Research Center at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell". Cause of course if you believe it, it is right no matter how many studies are done.

 

[Konigin]

Makes me want to go put on my new cubs shirt! Sammy is still a great hitter. Who knows, maybe it was or maybe it wasn't a mistake.

 

[LeeTJ]

Originally posted by: pyonir

Originally posted by: LeeTJ

1 mph can be HUGE if it's the difference between PULLING a pitch and going the other way with it.

comeon the difference between a GOOD fast ball pitcher 93 to 94 MPH and a mediocre fastball pitcher 91 to 92 mph is only 1 MPH.

at least do your homework. btw, i don't need links as evidence.

small margins makes ALL the difference on the professional level. it's not like we are talking hackers like me who couldn't hit a 80 mph fastball if my life depended on it. we are talking guys who have worked their whole lives to hit 95 mph fast balls.

does that 1 mph in bat swing make a difference? YES, it's HUGE. i don't care who wrote that paper you quoted, they are plain stupid if they don't think 1 mph makes a big difference.

the difference between a fly ball out and a HR can be as small as 1 inch.

Haha...yeah i expected you to dismiss studies done by experts at the "Baseball Research Center at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell". Cause of course if you believe it, it is right no matter how many studies are done.

that's the best you can do??

you can honestly tell me that you think 1mph DOESN'T make any difference at all??

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: LeeTJ

you can honestly tell me that you think 1mph DOESN'T make any difference at all??

Not to a power hitter like Sosa.

EDIT: and no, that isn't the best i can do. I've learned that arguing with your opinions is pointless.

 

[LeeTJ]

Originally posted by: pyonir

Originally posted by: LeeTJ

you can honestly tell me that you think 1mph DOESN'T make any difference at all??

Not to a power hitter like Sosa.

there will be many pitches that he went from going the other way to pulling it because of that 1 mph. any power hitter can tell you his chances of hitting a HR increase SIGNIFICANTLY if he pulls instead of going the other way.

but that would require logic.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

i dont feel it matters if it helps or not...but sammy thought it helped, therefor he was trying to cheat...

i think this is much more of a blow to his person. making him from one of hte most respected down to albert belle level...

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: LeeTJ
there will be many pitches that he went from going the other way to pulling it because of that 1 mph. any power hitter can tell you his chances of hitting a HR increase SIGNIFICANTLY if he pulls instead of going the other way.

but that would require logic.

think of how precise that instant would have to be for that MPH to change the ball going to the opposite field or pulling the ball. It is going to be a factor in what......000001% of the time?

 

[eber]

How to cork a bat

with advantages and disadvantages.

 

[LeeTJ]

Originally posted by: pyonir

Originally posted by: LeeTJ
there will be many pitches that he went from going the other way to pulling it because of that 1 mph. any power hitter can tell you his chances of hitting a HR increase SIGNIFICANTLY if he pulls instead of going the other way.

but that would require logic.

think of how precise that instant would have to be for that MPH to change the ball going to the opposite field or pulling the ball. It is going to be a factor in what......000001% of the time?

sammy sosa will get about 5 to 6 AB per game. each AB he will see 4 to 8 pitches. let's use 8 to help your side out.

of the 8 there are going to be 3 he wouldn't even consider swinging at. so now only 5 pitches that really matter. of the 5, 1 or 2 he will be fooled on, swing at a curve when he's looking for a fastball, swing at a fastball when he's looking for a curve. the faster bat swing won't mean diddly squat here.

so now, we are left with 4 pitches. of the 4 he will be looking curve and swing at a curve 1-2 times and will be looking fastball and swinging fastball 2-3 times. why more fastballs, well, he's a fastball hitter.

so, of the 2-3 fastball's an at bat he sees, will the 1 mph in bat swing make a difference??

let me ask you this, how many foulballs do you see in a given at bat because the batter couldnt' catch up with the fastball. what is the difference between a foulball that barely misses the pole and goes out and a hr?? it's about 1/4 mph in bat speed swing.

he's going to see 2-3 fastballs per at bat given 6 at bats a game, he will see 12 to 18 fastballs a game where 1 mph in bat speed will be HUGE.

yes, and it's just my opinion. but at least my opinion is based on reason.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: jjsole
<a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2003/0604/1563115.html" target=blank>76 bats confiscated, 76 bats clean</A>

he said its for batting practice to put on a show for the fans.

this is believable given how much of a showboat he is. he's broken a ton of bats over the past few years...but only one with cork.

Just saw that on MSN...guess I'd give him the benefit of my doubt.

 

[exp]

The best thing Sosa could do now would be to hit another 60 homers and break his bat over his knee after every one, putting the evidence out there for everyone to see. If he could do that it would silence all but the most stubborn critics. Unfortunately for Sammy his 60 HR days are well behind him now, and even 50 will soon be a stretch. So he'll see his yearly numbers steadily declining due to age and there will plenty of people out there foolishly attributing it to corkless bats.

After these latest developments--that is, the 76 bats cleared by MLB, plus at least three older bats cleared by private collectors--I've decided to go along with you folks who think that he cheated deliberately, but that it was a recent decision in response to the pressure of his extended slump. So what does that mean? First, that my opinion of his character takes a nose-dive. Cheating is cheating, I don't care how often you do it. And second, that my opinion of his career achievements remains high, because I don't think there's a chance in hell that he has been doctoring equipment from Day 1. Sosa has broken hundreds of bats in his career; if he was corking with any level of frequency that could have affected his HR numbers he would have been busted for sure.

Oh well, can't say I have much sympathy for the guy. Whether he cheated through maliciousness or incompetence the fact remains that he brought this disgrace on himself. Stupid stupid stupid...

 

[Miramonti]

Sosa gets 8 game suspension

 

[exp]

Sosa gets 8 game suspension

Pretty much as expected, then.

I must say though, I am surprised they announced it today. Maybe it's just the cynic in me talking, but I thought for sure MLB would wait until Monday so that Sammy would remain in the line-up for this weekend's Cubs-Yankees series. That would be just the sort of hypocritical move we've come to expect from them. Ah well, I guess they decided it wasn't necessary, figuring either that he would appeal or that this overhyped series didn't need his help to post good TV ratings.

 

[Miramonti]

anyone know if the other players, like randolf or bell, were caught with more than 1 bat corked, including the bats in the dugout when they were busted?

 

[exp]

anyone know if the other players, like randolf or bell, were caught with more than 1 bat corked, including the bats in the dugout when they were busted?

I don't think so. In fact I don't even know whether MLB checked their other bats. It seems like the administration has never been very eager to expose cheaters. Heck, Nettles didn't even get a suspension for his loaded bat, and I believe they even allowed the homer he hit with the bat earlier in that game to stand, giving his team a 1-0 win. Does anyone remember what rationale was given for that decision at the time? Because in retrospect it seems totally inexplicable.

Omar Vizquel, Belle's former teammate in Cleveland, has claimed that all Belle's bats were corked...but that hardly qualifies as proof.