By Nick
Kimball
Saturday, June 7th, 2003
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For the last five years, Sammy Sosa has shocked and awed baseball fans with
his mammoth long-balls and charmed them with his infectious smile. He has
belted 505 homeruns and has been one of baseball's most marketable players.
Sammy has become a hero to many baseball fans on Chicago's north side and
countless more around the country. Cubbies fans finally had something to
cheer because of him.
But today, all that is gone. Everything Slammin' Sammy accomplished and all
he did to lift our spirits in the dog days of summer has been tainted. Sammy
Sosa deceived the public and is a cheater. By using a corked bat in a game,
Sammy has disrespected baseball and all of its fans. He will never occupy
the same place in our hearts.
Once a shoe-in, first-ballot Hall of Famer, Sosa might no longer be a sure-thing.
Sammy's actions have also brought unneeded doubt on other players. If one
of the best hitters in the game has to use a corked bat, what about others
with less natural-talent?
Sammy claims the corked bat was used only for his famous batting practice
power displays. It was never supposed to be used in a game, but only by accident,
he says, did that happen. It was a "mistake." After all, "everyone is human."
Maybe that's true or maybe it's not. Tests done on 76 of his other bats came
back clean. Tests on still others that are in the Hall of Fame also came
back clean. Maybe that vindicates Sammy and he really did just use the wrong
bat. But how can we ever know? The only bat that really matters -- the one
hollowed out and stuffed with cork -- was not clean. And he used it in a
game.
How can we be sure about anything now? How can we be sure that the homerun
race that captured our imaginations five years ago was on the up-and-up?
How can we be sure that his incredible displays of physical prowess were
for real? After all, he cheated once, why not before?
And consider Sammy's explanation for a moment. It really does not make sense
that he would use the bat only for batting practice and simply mistakenly
used it in a game. The gates open so late at parks these days that very few
fans even make it for batting practice anymore. Especially for the home team
(Sosa was caught with the bat at Wrigley). Also, players often clearly mark
batting practice bats to distinguish them from game bats. These bats are
also usually considerably marked up from repeated use while game bats are
cleaner.
But even if his explanation is true, it doesn't sit well with me. When I
saw the Cubs play the Twins in Minneapolis five years ago, I went to see
Sammy hit bombs -- in batting practice and the game. It was remarkable to
see what a human being could do with only his body and a baseball bat. I
played baseball my whole life and know first-hand what it means to hit a
ball 500-feet (not that I ever came close).
But after finding out that everything was not as it seemed completely spoils
that experience in my memory. It wasn't just Sammy swinging away with a bat.
It was Sammy swinging away with a bat altered to make himself look like more
than he was. His batting practice power was artificial.
Personally, I'm not sure if I believe Sammy or not. I certainly hope that
he is telling the truth. He has always been one of the "good guys." In a
day when my childhood hero -- Kirby Puckett -- has faced numerous charges
for inappropriate and even criminal behavior, Sammy was one of the guys I
felt okay with my little cousins looking up to. Now that's gone. Whether
he's telling the truth or not, Sammy is not what he seemed.
No one is perfect. But not everyone is a cheater. There are probably others
who use corked bats and don't get caught, but Sammy was supposed to be different.
He deceived us and now his whole career is brought into question. It is a
huge black eye for baseball and one of its most visible and alluring stars.
He can never go back.
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