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[Vic Viper]

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was ejected from Tuesday night's game because he was believed to have cork in his bat.
The Cubs had runners at second and third with one out in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sosa grounded out to second base, driving in a run. His bat split upon impact and home plate umpire Tim McClelland picked up the broken half. He called the other three umpires over to examine it.

The umpires then showed the bat fragment to Cubs manager Dusty Baker and then third base umpire Lance Barksdale took the shattered bat into the umpires' room.

The runners were sent back to the bases.

McClelland told official scorer Bob Rosenberg that Sosa was ejected because he had cork in his bat. Sosa did not come out and argue the call.

Sosa entered the game batting .285 and was playing his fourth game since being activated from the disabled list.

corkified

do you guys think this affect his Hall Of Fame numbers?

i like sammy, but this incedent will really taint his image, it will stick for the rest of his career being labaled a cheater. poor sammy.

[Zephyr]

After that I would probably say it may taint him but I dont know about his Hall Of Fame status. Maybe thats up to the officials...

[Vicious_2003]

There are many people in the HOF that have corked thier bast before, I dont think it will effect that, hes bound for the hall of fame regaurdless. But yeah I think his career is tainted now, every home run he hits from now on is going to be a reminder of his cheating. I dont belive his story about taking the wrong bat, that the corcked one was for Batting Practice. I think thats bull, Im not a baseball fan but If I had been a Sosa fan I wouldnt be now, atleast not as a big a fan . Its sad really.

[ssjtrunks13]

I don't know if this'll hurt him in the hall of fame, but I hope it doesn't, though he helped the Cubs beat the Orioles last tuesday. I had only heard abotu it when I went to the orioles game and someone was throwing cork at him kneeling right in front of him when the cops came. Either he had no idea that the cops were behind him or he didn't care. I don't think the guy cared because when the police pulled his arm behind his back he had his other hand up in the air cheering for himself I believe,

[Infernal Mass]

https://www.rr.com/v5/images/ap/CSB110061820.jpg

Sosa Homers in Return From Suspension
By The Associated Press
published 03:35 AM - JUNE 19, 2003 Eastern Time

It didn't take long for Sammy Sosa to return to form. In his first game since serving a seven-game suspension for using a corked bat, Sosa hit a two-run homer, made a sliding catch, he even broke his bat.

"That's the Sammy Sosa we all know," manager Dusty Baker said after the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 on Wednesday night.

It wasn't all perfect, however. In his return, there were more boos than cheers. Some fans screamed "Corky!" during his at-bats, and the reaction got nastier as the game went along.

He did his home-run hop, then rounded the bases with his head down after he hit a two-run homer off the top of the batter's eye pavilion in the fifth. His first homer since May 1 came off Jimmy Haynes (1-6) and was estimated at 464 feet _ the most impressive shot yet at Great American Ball Park.

The crowd of 39,053 booed him every step of the way.

It was a stark contrast to the season's opening week when the Cincinnati fans treated him like baseball royalty, giving him a standing ovation after he hit his 500th homer on April 4. It was the first historic homer at the ballpark.

Sosa hasn't been able to shake the notoriety of June 2, when his bat cracked in half on his first-inning grounder to second at Wrigley Field. The umpires found cork inside, prompting fans and other major leaguers to question his three 60-homer seasons.

The slugger claimed it was an honest mistake and X-rays cleared his other bats, resulting in an eight-game suspension being reduced to seven. Now, he knows he will have to deal with the jeers of fans.

"I'm a tough man," Sosa said. "I pray every night. I'm strong physically and mentally. Anybody else probably would be home, but I'm not."