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Sosa's Pitch: Hit or Miss?

Aired June 05, 2003 - 10:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Chicago Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa could learn today his punishment for using an illegal corked bat earlier this week. Sosa says it was a mistake and says his innocence is further supported by x-rays showing that 76 other bats that he owns are not doctored.
Sosa returned to the field last night, and guess what? He got a standing ovation. You shouldn't be too surprised if you've seen the Cubs fans over the years.

National correspondent Gary Tuchman is standing by at Wrigley Field. He's got more on all of this for us from there.

Good morning -- Gary. What are you hearing there?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Leon, good morning to you.

You know, the last time the Cubs were in a World Series was the year World War II ended. The last time they won a World Series was before World War I started. So, that's why in a year where the Cubs have been in first place for much of the season, the Sammy Sosa situation hits pretty hard.

And today is the day "Slammin' Sammy" could find out his punishment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sammy is going through this year.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Sammy Sosa received a standing ovation from most of crowd at Wrigley Field when he went to bat in the first inning on Wednesday night, exactly 24 hours after he hit a ground ball that led to a broken bat and some broken hearts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a bad dream that I can't wake up from.

TUCHMAN: Inside Sosa's bat, cork, illegal in America's national pastime, something that could make it easier to hit home runs. The league took 76 of his other bats at Wrigley Field for inspection. X- rays showed none of them had cork, but the investigation continues and a suspension will likely be coming, its length to be announced as early as Thursday.

SAMMY SOSA, CHICAGO CUBS: It's a mistake. We're all human, and we all made a mistake. Nobody perfect in this world.

TUCHMAN: But "Slammin' Sammy" is a hero in Chicago, where the Cubs haven't won a World Series in 95 years. So that's why this especially hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A big Cub fan, very disappointed, you know, that moronic move.

TUCHMAN: Many fans calling Chicago's the Score Sports Radio Station expressed similar disappointment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, guys, I'm a baseball fan, and I think this is a big, black eye for baseball.

TUCHMAN: The headlines in the Chicago newspapers were tough, and so were some of those newspaper's columnists.

PAUL SULLIVAN, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Basically his whole home run hitting career is in doubt because people are always going to wonder, did he use an illegal bat to hit 500 home runs?

TUCHMAN (on camera): Sosa is the only baseball player to ever hit 60 or more home runs in three different seasons. And his personality is exuberant, which leads many Cub fans to say cut him a break.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean he's not cocky and arrogant like a lot of these athletes. And Chicago should respect that, and they should respect him and believe him when he says that it was just a mistake.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Sosa says the corked bat was only supposed to be used in batting practice to put on a show for the fans, and using it in the game was an accident. So how many times has he used it?

SOSA: I've used that bat in batting practice about three or four times.

TUCHMAN: Ultimately Major League Baseball's investigation will likely determine how many fans continue to go to bat for Sammy Sosa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now we brought this bat to show you how a player would typically cork his bat. Take a look at the top of the bat. We drilled a hole in the top of it, one inch in diameter, about four to six inches deep. And what the player would do is take some cork, it wouldn't always look like this, but stick it in the hole, empty area, the meat of the bat is lighter, and that means the bat speed could be quicker. So, when you swing the bat -- and this is a 34-ounce bat, which is heavier than most players use -- but when you swing it, you can actually get it around a lot quicker than you could with a normal 34-ounce bat.

Some argue it doesn't make a difference, that it makes the bat weaker. But most players do believe you can hit it farther when you have a corked bat. Nevertheless, despite all of the stuff that's been going on, Major League Baseball as of now says there are no plans to spot check players' bats.

Leon -- back to you.

HARRIS: All right, and since you're not a major leaguer, we're not going to rat you out this morning since you actually have one of these bats with you, Gary. See you at the batting cages, already, buddy?

TUCHMAN: OK, Leon.

HARRIS: Take it easy. Gary Tuchman reporting live from Chicago.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired June 5, 2003 - 10:12   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Chicago Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa could learn today his punishment for using an illegal corked bat earlier this week. Sosa says it was a mistake and says his innocence is further supported by x-rays showing that 76 other bats that he owns are not doctored.
Sosa returned to the field last night, and guess what? He got a standing ovation. You shouldn't be too surprised if you've seen the Cubs fans over the years.

National correspondent Gary Tuchman is standing by at Wrigley Field. He's got more on all of this for us from there.

Good morning -- Gary. What are you hearing there?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Leon, good morning to you.

You know, the last time the Cubs were in a World Series was the year World War II ended. The last time they won a World Series was before World War I started. So, that's why in a year where the Cubs have been in first place for much of the season, the Sammy Sosa situation hits pretty hard.

And today is the day "Slammin' Sammy" could find out his punishment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sammy is going through this year.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Sammy Sosa received a standing ovation from most of crowd at Wrigley Field when he went to bat in the first inning on Wednesday night, exactly 24 hours after he hit a ground ball that led to a broken bat and some broken hearts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a bad dream that I can't wake up from.

TUCHMAN: Inside Sosa's bat, cork, illegal in America's national pastime, something that could make it easier to hit home runs. The league took 76 of his other bats at Wrigley Field for inspection. X- rays showed none of them had cork, but the investigation continues and a suspension will likely be coming, its length to be announced as early as Thursday.

SAMMY SOSA, CHICAGO CUBS: It's a mistake. We're all human, and we all made a mistake. Nobody perfect in this world.

TUCHMAN: But "Slammin' Sammy" is a hero in Chicago, where the Cubs haven't won a World Series in 95 years. So that's why this especially hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A big Cub fan, very disappointed, you know, that moronic move.

TUCHMAN: Many fans calling Chicago's the Score Sports Radio Station expressed similar disappointment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, guys, I'm a baseball fan, and I think this is a big, black eye for baseball.

TUCHMAN: The headlines in the Chicago newspapers were tough, and so were some of those newspaper's columnists.

PAUL SULLIVAN, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Basically his whole home run hitting career is in doubt because people are always going to wonder, did he use an illegal bat to hit 500 home runs?

TUCHMAN (on camera): Sosa is the only baseball player to ever hit 60 or more home runs in three different seasons. And his personality is exuberant, which leads many Cub fans to say cut him a break.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean he's not cocky and arrogant like a lot of these athletes. And Chicago should respect that, and they should respect him and believe him when he says that it was just a mistake.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Sosa says the corked bat was only supposed to be used in batting practice to put on a show for the fans, and using it in the game was an accident. So how many times has he used it?

SOSA: I've used that bat in batting practice about three or four times.

TUCHMAN: Ultimately Major League Baseball's investigation will likely determine how many fans continue to go to bat for Sammy Sosa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now we brought this bat to show you how a player would typically cork his bat. Take a look at the top of the bat. We drilled a hole in the top of it, one inch in diameter, about four to six inches deep. And what the player would do is take some cork, it wouldn't always look like this, but stick it in the hole, empty area, the meat of the bat is lighter, and that means the bat speed could be quicker. So, when you swing the bat -- and this is a 34-ounce bat, which is heavier than most players use -- but when you swing it, you can actually get it around a lot quicker than you could with a normal 34-ounce bat.

Some argue it doesn't make a difference, that it makes the bat weaker. But most players do believe you can hit it farther when you have a corked bat. Nevertheless, despite all of the stuff that's been going on, Major League Baseball as of now says there are no plans to spot check players' bats.

Leon -- back to you.

HARRIS: All right, and since you're not a major leaguer, we're not going to rat you out this morning since you actually have one of these bats with you, Gary. See you at the batting cages, already, buddy?

TUCHMAN: OK, Leon.

HARRIS: Take it easy. Gary Tuchman reporting live from Chicago.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.