Chicago Cubs Sammy Sosa Suspended for Corked Bat

Sammy Sosa‘s surge from a decent player into a power hitting superstar led to PED whispers in the early 2000’s. On this day in 2003, the Chicago Cubs slugger was suspended for eight games for using a corked bat two days before.

Sammy Sosa had been a solid player with a nice blend of power and speed before breaking out in a major way in 1998. In three of the next four seasons, he would hit over sixty home runs, although the one time he led the league in homers would be that fourth year when he did not hit sixty. The Chicago Cubs outfielder had established himself as one of the great power hitters in the game.

However, by the time that 2003 had come about, Sosa had fallen under the dark cloud of PED suspicions. He had been a slender player before suddenly turning into the heavily muscled slugger we came to know. While he never failed a PED test, that cloud of suspicion remained.

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Sosa did not help himself on June 3, 2003. In a game against the Rays, Sosa used a corked bat, fuelling additional suspicions that he had been cheating in some way. He maintained that the corked bat was one that he used strictly in batting practice to put on a show for the fans, and that he grabbed it by accident.

An investigation by Major League Baseball, looking at his other 76 bats, including five in Cooperstown, showed that none of the others were corked. Bob Watson agreed that this was an isolated incident, but still suspended Sosa for eight games.

Even if it was accidental, the damage was done. Sosa’s reputation, which had already taken a hit with those steroid allegations, had dropped even lower. As it was, he would only have three more years left in the Majors, with the corked bat and PED allegations causing Sosa to have receive minimal support from Hall of Fame voters.

Next: What is wrong with Drew Smyly?

Sammy Sosa was a great slugger for the Chicago Cubs, but his legacy had already taken a hit before this suspension. While this was the only time that Sosa would officially be caught cheating, the damage had been done.