say it ain't so, sammy

It turns out all 76 of Sammy Sosa's bats that were confiscated following his ejection last night (for a corked one) are clean. In other words, his claim that he accidentally used one of his batting practice bats in the game appears to be true.

Perhaps I was being naive and falling for Sosa's image as one of the "good guys" in baseball, but I never really had any doubt about him telling the truth. For a few reasons...

1) Have you ever looked at Sammy Sosa? He is built. While a corked bat would (in theory) still increase his distance, the vast majority of his homers clear the wall by a mile. Runs are runs, and Sosa's been around long enough to know that.

2) If he systematically used a cork bat, wouldn't it have been discovered by now? Sosa's known for breaking more bats than the average player, so there's been ample opportunity for him getting caught.

3) His explanation is reasonable. People come to BP to see HRs. It's for show. If Sammy wants to put on a good show, let him put on a good show.

All this talk of how his reputation will be tarnished forever? Come on. Is George Brett's (granted, his offense was excessive pine tar, not a corked bat)? Albert Belle's is, but he was a pretty big asshole, too. Will the media ever realize that they create stories like this? I'd bet that most baseball fans you'd talk to would be more than willing to forgive Sosa.