Uncorked: Five batting busts in MLB history

Something doesn’t seem quite right with these “torpedo bats” being used throughout Major League Baseball for power boosts.

The bats have been deemed legal (for now) by MLB officials. Still, they conjure up images of the many times players have been busted with illegal bats.

This week’s High Five looks at a handful of players caught using corked bats.

5. Wilton Guerrero, 1997

Leading off a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Guerrero shattered his bat on a ground ball to second base. Suspicion arose among the umpires when Guerrero chose to chase down pieces of the bat instead of running to first base.

Plate umpire Steve Rippley picked up one of the pieces and noticed the cork. Guerrero was ejected and suspended eight games for his actions.

In postgame comments, Guerrero said it was the first time he used the illegal bat.

4. Billy Hatcher, 1987

While playing against the Cubs, his former team, Hatcher claimed he was a victim of a bat shortage when he was caught with cork on an infield hit.

The Cubs notified the umpires while tracking down a piece of the broken bat, and Hatcher was ejected and handed a 10-day suspension. Hatcher claimed a rash of broken bats forced him to unknowingly borrow the corked one from relief pitcher Dave Smith.

3. Chris Sabo, 1996

During his return season with the Reds, Sabo fouled off a pitch and broke his bat against Houston.

The bat boy brought him a new one. Another foul ball appeared to crack that bat as well, but Sabo stuck with it. Sabo then shattered the bat on an out, and jogged back to the dugout.

Umpires, however, found cork in the recovered pieces of the bat. He was suspended seven games and fined $25,000 but insisted he didn’t know the bat was corked.

2. Sammy Sosa, 2003

In the midst of a 40-home run season with the Cubs, Sosa broke his bat on a groundout against Tampa Bay.

Umpires quickly noticed cork among the remnants. Sosa admitted the bat was his but said it was mistakenly used in the game and was only meant for practice.

MLB officials examined Sosa’s other bats and found no cork. Still, he was suspended seven games.

1. Albert Belle, 1994

The most bizarre incident occurred when Belle played for Cleveland against the White Sox.

The White Sox were tipped off that Belle would be using a corked bat. Manager Gene Lamont had the umpires confiscate the bat, which was locked up in the umpires’ room at what was still named Comiskey Park.

Cleveland, trying to steal the bat before it could be inspected, sent relief pitcher Jason Grimsley through the ceiling and down into the umpires’ room. He swapped out Belle’s bat for a clean one, but a stadium worker later noticed someone had been in the room and the umpires saw the bat looked different and didn’t have Belle’s signature on it.

Threatened with FBI involvement, Cleveland surrendered the actual bat. It was X-rayed and sawed in half, where the evidence was uncovered. Belle was suspended seven games.