Posted by: Mister X () on Sun Jun 15 10:54:43 2003

It's very simple actually. If you have ever seen an interview with a baseball physicist, they all say the same thing: corked bats do not help.
> >
> > I saw an interview on ESPN last week with the former official NL phyicist and he went on to say that where Sosa had the cork it could have only hurt him. Studies have proven that on average a corked bat will hit the ball 3 feet LESS than a regular bat.
> >
> > Sosa did cheat, and his punishment is fair, but his legend should not be tarnished.
>
> Jake-
> If it doesnt help, then why have players been doing it for so many years??? Especially when they know the consequences for getting caught. Physics also say that a curve ball is an optical illusion...
> thejuice


Come on thejuice, MLB won't change their underwear for weeks if they start winning games or go on a hitting streak. They will do almost anything that they think gives them an advantage. Confidence is the biggest issue in sports. If you have it you play well. If you don't you play bad. Players will do anything they THINK will help them. It's all a mental thing. A cork will give some players extra confidence, which will help them play better.

Corking was started years ago when we didn't have physics to actually tell what works and what doesn't. You're going to tell me that you believe and average joe MLB player over a qualified phyicist???? And by the way, physics DOES NOT say a curveball is an optical illusion. Many people used to think curveballs were optical illusions. But physics was never used to help prove that. I had a poster in my high school physics lab (teacher was also baseball coach) that used physics to EXPLAIN how curveballs work.

Stop living in the past, and get up-to-date on your facts thejucie.