Quote:
Originally posted by polarpi
The same day that it happened, ESPN did it's "Did You Know?" about corked bats. They said that a corked bat adds about 1.1 mph to the bat swing, which is a 1% increase. Based on those numbers, if a person would hit a homerun 400 ft with a non-corked bat, he would only hit it 404 ft with the corked bat. The corks do add distance, but not too much that it makes a very noticeable distance (unless you hit a ball only 318 ft with a corked bat  )!
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I don't buy that.
1. I heard a number of ex players interviewed after the Sosa incident and they all said the ball jumps off of a corked bat.
2. Sosa's own comments don't even support the conclusion of of a 1% increase. He said that he uses the corked bat in BP to impress the fans. Who is going to be impressed with a 404' homer vs 400'. That is such a small increase, a fan couldn't even see it by eye.