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CNN Live At Daybreak
Keeping a Cork in it: Silent Sosa
Aired June 06, 2003 - 05:45 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Sammy Sosa is waiting to hear his punishment for using a corked bat in Tuesday night's game. And while the Chicago Cubs slugger waits, he's no longer talking about the incident.
Here's CNN Chicago bureau chief Jeff Flock.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The bat Sammy Sosa used to his hit 500th home run earlier this year, pulled from an hall of fame exhibit and now X-rayed. The grain clearly visible, but no cork. In all, more than 80 bats checked, all clean.
LENNY HARRIS, CHICAGO CUBS: We're behind him all the way in this. One thing about him he's a warrior. He'll keep his head up.
FLOCK: Head up and mouth closed, in batting practice, in the clubhouse, and before he ran out in the field to another standing ovation and plenty of signs of support.
JACKIE BELCASTER, SOSA FAN: We came out here to support Sammy Sosa today. We're die-hard Cubs fans and we're giving him the benefit of the doubt.
FLOCK: Not everyone, checked the sign behind Sosa after he got a hit on Thursday, it say, "check the bat." The checks so far bolster his claim that it's so easy to get confused, like the ones we saw in the teammates' Moises Alou and Alex Gonzalaz's lockers. Sosa say grabbing the corked one which he only uses in batting practice was an innocent mistake.
DAN BERNSTEIN, RADIO HOST: He is not innocent. He's been caught.
FLOCK: Chicago sports radio talk show host, Dan Bernstein, tells CNN that his callers don't buy it Sosa's story.
BERNSTEIN: I think his numbers are forever tainted by this. He's lost his halo. He's lost his credibility.
FLOCK: Credibility earned by the titanic home run battle with Mark Mcguire in 1998. A national hero in native Dominican Republic, and a Chicago Cubs legend. And you can see the X-ray images of his most famous bats on the hall of fame's Web site to prove they're clean. But restoring the image with the fans and fellow players will not be easy. MARK GRACE, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: Shoot, if I had known that was corked bats in the bat rack, I would have hit a lot more home runs in Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: An event to honor Sosa will go on as scheduled before today's game, though, with the New York Yankees at Wrigley Field. Sosa will be presented with a copy of a congressional resolution honoring him for his 500th career home run.
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 6, 2003 - 05:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Sammy Sosa is waiting to hear his punishment for using a corked bat in Tuesday night's game. And while the Chicago Cubs slugger waits, he's no longer talking about the incident.
Here's CNN Chicago bureau chief Jeff Flock.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The bat Sammy Sosa used to his hit 500th home run earlier this year, pulled from an hall of fame exhibit and now X-rayed. The grain clearly visible, but no cork. In all, more than 80 bats checked, all clean.
LENNY HARRIS, CHICAGO CUBS: We're behind him all the way in this. One thing about him he's a warrior. He'll keep his head up.
FLOCK: Head up and mouth closed, in batting practice, in the clubhouse, and before he ran out in the field to another standing ovation and plenty of signs of support.
JACKIE BELCASTER, SOSA FAN: We came out here to support Sammy Sosa today. We're die-hard Cubs fans and we're giving him the benefit of the doubt.
FLOCK: Not everyone, checked the sign behind Sosa after he got a hit on Thursday, it say, "check the bat." The checks so far bolster his claim that it's so easy to get confused, like the ones we saw in the teammates' Moises Alou and Alex Gonzalaz's lockers. Sosa say grabbing the corked one which he only uses in batting practice was an innocent mistake.
DAN BERNSTEIN, RADIO HOST: He is not innocent. He's been caught.
FLOCK: Chicago sports radio talk show host, Dan Bernstein, tells CNN that his callers don't buy it Sosa's story.
BERNSTEIN: I think his numbers are forever tainted by this. He's lost his halo. He's lost his credibility.
FLOCK: Credibility earned by the titanic home run battle with Mark Mcguire in 1998. A national hero in native Dominican Republic, and a Chicago Cubs legend. And you can see the X-ray images of his most famous bats on the hall of fame's Web site to prove they're clean. But restoring the image with the fans and fellow players will not be easy. MARK GRACE, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: Shoot, if I had known that was corked bats in the bat rack, I would have hit a lot more home runs in Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: An event to honor Sosa will go on as scheduled before today's game, though, with the New York Yankees at Wrigley Field. Sosa will be presented with a copy of a congressional resolution honoring him for his 500th career home run.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
