Sosa ejected for illegal bat

Sports Network ^ | 06/03/03

[michigander]

Sosa ejected for illegal bat

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was ejected from Tuesday's game against Tampa Bay for using an illegal bat.

With Mark Grudzielanek at third and Alex Gonzalez at second with one out in the bottom of the first inning, Sosa came to bat against Devil Rays starter Jeremi Gonzalez. Sosa broke his bat on a grounder and was thrown out at first, as Grudzielanek hustled home to apparently give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

Part of the shattered bat was then picked up by home plate umpire Tim McClelland. He then gathered with the other three umpires and it was determined that the bat contained cork.

Sosa was ejected for using the illegal bat and Grudzielanek was sent back to third base. Moises Alou popped out to end the frame.

06/03 20:57:52 ET

---

Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa breaks his bat on a first-inning ground ball Tuesday, June 3, 2003, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. After the
play, home plate umpire Tim McClelland examined the bat and ejected Sosa after finding cork in the bat. (AP Photo/Steve Matteo)

[michigander]

Sammy, Sammy, Sammy?

Haven't seen a decent picture of the broken bat online but, I saw the footage on WGN Channel 9 out of Chicago and there isn't much doubt about it.

[concentric circles]

Per earlier post: Here it's Sammy who gets drilled, not the bat.

[Alberta's Child]

"Introducing the Mike McGuire and Sammy Sooser of politics, Bill Clinton and Al Gore!"

--- Ted Kennedy, 1998

[michigander]

That would be Mark McGuire. :)

[bellevuesbest]

I wonder how many of those home runs were corked?

[Lunatic Fringe]

Yes- that is exactly how Kennedy said it. He had obviously visited the bar! LOL

[Alberta's Child]

You heard that audio clip, too, Lunatic Fringe? LOL!!

[spald]

Should have cut up Kennedy's sea-worthy Olds Cutlass that killed M J Kopekne.

May she rest in Peace: July 18, 1969.

[Skip Ripley]

Actually, that would be Mark McGwire

[putupjob]

SAY IT AIN'T SOSA

[michigander]

Actually, that would be Mark McGwire

Well, I've had a few already tonight. Forgive me? ;^)

[dfwgator]

This incident is going to cost Sosa millions in lost endorsements.

[JustPiper]

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was ejected from Tuesday night's game because he was believed to have cork in his bat.

The Cubs had runners at second and third with one out in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sosa grounded out to second base, driving in a run. His bat split upon impact and home plate umpire Tim McClelland picked up the broken half. He called the other three umpires over to examine it.

The umpires then showed the bat fragment to Cubs manager Dusty Baker and then third base umpire Lance Barksdale took the shattered bat into the umpires' room.

The runners were sent back to the bases. McClelland told official scorer Bob Rosenberg that Sosa was ejected because he had cork in his bat. Sosa did not come out and argue the call. Sosa entered the game batting .285 and was playing his fourth game since being activated from the disabled list. Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[JustPiper]

I love my Cubbies but always hated Sosa, the arrogant somnaB...at his first interview before coming back off his booboo toe, he was so beligerent. Hope they send him back to the dominican!

[Skip Ripley]

If I can forgive this year's TIgers, I can forgive anything.

[JustPiper]

Earlier Thread

[JustPiper]

Belle's suspect bat missing; foul play is suspected

By Jerome Holtzman
Tribune staff reporter

July 17, 1994


A baseball mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes and Scotland Yard surfaced Saturday at Comiskey Park with the discovery of a stolen bat-not just any bat, but the lumber confiscated from Cleveland's Albert Belle, who is among the American League leaders in home runs and runs batted in.

At the request of White Sox manager Gene Lamont, who suspected Belle's bat was filled with cork, the umpires, in the first inning of Friday night's game, impounded the stick for safekeeping and shipment to the AL office in New York for X-rays.

In a thievery perhaps without precedent in diamond history, the culprit crawled 30 feet to the umpires' dressing room, broke in through the ceiling, lifted Belle's bat and replaced it with a model used by Paul Sorrento, one of Belle's teammates.

"It was definitely a break-in," said umpire Dave Phillips, who had taken Belle's bat and given it to Vince Fresso, custodian of the umpires' quarters.

Fresso put the bat behind Phillips' large equipment suitcase and covered it with Phillips' civilian clothing. Fresso locked the room and watched the first three innings on the bench. He discovered the theft in about the sixth inning when he noticed clumps of ceiling insulation on the floor. Ceiling tiles in two locations were askew and the metal support strips twisted out of shape.

"This is a serious crime," said White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, a view subsequently endorsed by acting Commissioner Bud Selig.

Selig, an amateur Hawkshaw and an avid reader of mystery novels, said: "We're going to get to the bottom of this."

An investigation began at noon Saturday when the umpires' quarters were dusted for fingerprints. The probe is being led by Kevin Hallinan, a former FBI agent who flew in from New York.

Hallinan arrived at the scene of the crime two hours before Saturday night's game.

Sox General Manager Ron Schueler conceded there is an "ongoing investigation" but refused further comment.

Mike Hargrove, the Cleveland manager, said, "I don't know if I should be surprised, shocked or outraged."

Umpire Phillips offered some of the details.

"I've seen tampered bats before," he said. "When I looked at Belle's bat, it appeared there was nothing wrong with it."

He then showed the bat to two of the other umpires, neither of whom could detect tampering.

"Usually, what they do is drill a hole through the top of the bat and put in a long piece of tubular cork," Phillips continued. "Once they slide the cork in, they put the top back on, glue it, and sand it down. Sometimes they paint it. I'm not sure if it was painted black or a dark brown. I think it was painted black."

Phillips insisted it had the feel of a "shiny new bat." The replacement, Phillips said, was "dirty, extremely dirty and sticky with pine tar in several places. It looked like it had been used for a long time."

Fresso didn't advise Phillips of the break-in until after the game. A half-hour later, AL President Bobby Brown was awakened in his New York hotel and advised of the theft.

Marty Springstead, AL supervisor of umpires, was contacted along with Hallinan.

"This is bizarre," Springstead said in a telephone interview from his New Jersey home. "In 3l years (in baseball), you think you've seen it all but you haven't."

The mystery may never be solved. One of he nagging questions is this: Why didn't the culprit replace Belle's bat with one of Belle's five or six spares instead of planting the Sorrento model.

The investigation is expected to continue, but already there are some clues. According to a reliable source, the principal suspects are three members of the traveling Cleveland party who are not in uniform.

The finger is also being pointed at an identified and fervent Cleveland fan who made the trip here from Shaker Heights, Ohio.

[michigander]

Already posted here.

[JustPiper]

Hey Mich, but that is breaking news with an old, long thread, keep this one ok?

[michigander]

Hey Mich, but that is breaking news with an old, long thread, keep this one ok?

Doesn't matter to me. I already squealed on myself to the Admin Mod though.