This is kind of dated right now. It was meant to be part of the June 10 Ask Rotoman column at mlb.com, but they told me they’d already run a ton of Sosa stuff and so they killed it. I should have posted it immediately, like some kind of samizdat, but it was probably a little dated then, too. I include it now for those completists interested in everything Rotoman writes. I should note that no subject in my eight years of writing about baseball has excited so many questions by fanatics and laypersons alike.
Rotoman:
Sammy.
�So, sir?�
Dear So:
I�ve never seen a non-fantasy issue generate so much interest, among baseball fans and the casual observer alike.
The whole issue has been beaten to a corkish pulp, as a result, but I think I have a thing or two to add.
1) Corking bats may have been hugely effective back in the day, but the objective evidence I�ve seen suggests that the modern baseball bat is very efficient, and cork-at best-adds a handful of feet on the longest shots.
2) The insides of enough Sammy Sosa bats have been examined to support, at least partially, his contention that he didn�t usually use a corked bat.
3) Still, it seems unlikely that he didn�t realize he was using his exhibition bat.
4) And whether he knew it or not, using the bat was a violation of the rules of the game, and so whether he knew it or not, it was cheating. For which he should be punished.
5) Sosa copped to his mistake immediately and has said he�ll serve his punishment honorably. That�s in his favor.
6) But his reputation will always be at least a little smudged by this incident, which could cost him valuable endorsements.
7) I think that assuming that he submits to the punishment that baseball has determined fits the crime, Sosa really should have a clean slate after this. Why? Not because everyone does it or because it�s a part of the game, but because there is no evidence that this was more than an isolated incident. And when the crime isn�t very serious (cheating is serious, but cheating ineffectually seems less so), it�s better to be forgiving than not.
8) And because there is so little evidence that corking actually helps, we shouldn�t be reevaluating Sosa�s career at this point. There will be plenty of time for hand wringing if it ever happens again. For now, let�s admire a hitter who remade his game in remarkable ways, a man who taught himself to take a pitch and a walk, and thus discovered incredible success.
9) And if it happens again, let’s send him to Pete Rose�s house.
Judiciously,
Rotoman