OT: Interesting Story On Pete Rose and Corked Bats

[JasonL]

Originally Posted by mr2686

I'm not sure I believe Myth Busters findings on that. Players at all levels have been screwing around with corked bats (even for fun) for as long as I can remember and as a player you notice a difference. The rule of thumb is have the most mass (largest bat) that you can swing without slowing down your swing. Adding cork would allow you to swing a "heavier" bat "faster". Of course, you also weaken the bat when you do that and it wouldn't last as long. In softball, companies have made billions by coming up with stronger, lighter aluminum so that you can swing faster but the bat is as strong as a heavier type of aluminum allowing the ball to travel farther...or velocity times mass equals distance (or momentum)

replacing the wood with cork means they are no longer swinging a heavier bat...

[mr2686]

true, it's not heavier but it does have the same mass as the heavier bat and that's where the difference comes in...in my opinion.

[D. Bergin]

Pete Rose really is incorrigible.

Not only does he cork his bat, but he uses the corked bat to break Cobb's record..............and then sells the corked bat to a collector along with who knows how many other corked bats from the same season to other collectors, never believing anybody would ever notice that there is something wrong with the bats.

Pete may have gotten an "A" in woodshop, but he certainly failed at ethics and common sense.

[shimozukawa]

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[mr2686]

I'll have to disagree with that one. Players have been corking bats for years...and for power, not for hits. Even if just for fun during batting practice, the balls tend to jump and go further from the corked bat...however you want to explain it. I've known a few bat doctors in my day...and even used some of those bats during bating practice for fun, and there is a difference in distance.

[shimozukawa]

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[mr2686]

You may be right about contact versus actual energy. How about this...if you take two bats, one a 34oz and one a 40oz, chances are good that the hitting surface at the sweet spot is larger at the sweet spot of the 40oz. If you then cork the 40oz so that it swings like a 34oz, you have the velocity of swinging a 34oz with the hitting area of a 40oz. I agree that you can wait later on your swing but I'm also wondering how the cork affects the rebound/trampoline affect of the bat as the ball and bat meet. (and when we say cork, it could be rubberball shavings etc.). Quite possibly the bat now has more give at the core and creates more return energy.

[shimozukawa]

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[tacprc]

Originally Posted by shimozukawa

In Rose's case, it's much simpler: Rose wasn't trying to hit the long ball. He was just trying to hit. Corking his bats would increase his bat speed, which would give him more time to decide whether he wanted to swing at a pitch or not. This, in turn, would increase his propensity for manufacturing a hit out of every at bat. Looking at his stats, I would have to say Rose began corking his bats between 1979-1981. This is when his SLG dropped below his OBP.

fyi, as regards Rose, the corking accusations are limited to 1985 only. No one has found any corked bats from any other year -- and there are many, many Rose bats in the hobby.