Sports trivia
I'm currently reading an interesting book called "Larceny and Old Leather" which deals with the many and varied ways that players and owners have tried to get an edge in baseball (otherwise known as cheating).
We've all heard of players "corking" their bats to try to gain an advantage, where they drill out the center of the bat and fill it with cork. (actually, this does nothing but lower the bat's weight, which they could achieve by simply using a lighter bat.)
But what other materials have players put inside their bats in hopes of getting an edge?
On two occasions, players have broken a bat while hitting the ball to reveal that the bat was filled with:
A. Ping-pong balls
B. Super balls
C. Concrete
D. Springs
E. Jello
Give your answer (or guess) in comments.
HeadUsher, please refrain from trying to bring things back to your favorite subject.
posted by The Inside Dope @ 8/18/2005
13 comments
13 Comments:
Your still a no good, self-serving Republican. And there is nothing you can do about it!
NEWSFLASH...
DOPE to be revealed?
Don't hold your breath!
Who gives a damn who you think The Dope is? It's meaningless. And why in the hell would you even feel the need to slander someone with your guess?
What's your problem with The Dope?
Just a thin-skinned jerk who can't take the fact that someone allows people to make negative comments about you?
What kind of a creep are you, anyway? (like we can't tell.)
The kind who doesn't appreciate unkown comics making jokes. Stay tuned as soon everyones screen names are about o be unvieled! Good work computer geek!
This should be a great story for the press... "Jacobs supporter displays Mafia like tactics on local blog."
You'd better get busy with your Nixonian "enemies list" because there have been many people who have expressed displeasure with you here. I'm just one.
And by the way, feel free to answer to the question in the post. No need to let this ugliness hijack the blog.
OK... your answer is noted pending further guesses.
If no further guesses are received by tomorrow evening, I will reveal whether you are correct or not at that time.
I feel like HeadUsher dropped a big rock in our pond and all the commenter fish scattered like mad.
I hope they all come back soon. The water's fine.
Jeez, I figured someone would know this. Its superballs.
Ding Ding Ding Ding... We have a winner.
Quad City Images was way ahead of everyone on this one. Players have actually filled their bats with superballs on at least two occasions.
When Amos Otis of the Royals broke his bat during a game in 1971, not only cork but superballs spilled out all over the infield.
And as the book says, "In 1974, Yankee Greg Nettles busted a bat, spraying around the bases six superballs that were dutifully collected by shocked Tiger catcher Bill Freehan."
It was also a fairly common practice to pound nails into bats for a perceived advantage.
There's certainly no shortage of odd-ball stuff that baseball players have resorted to to give them even a slight edge.
But when the very best hitters fail more than 6 times out of 10, I guess it's understandable.
Hee hee Maybesomeday. Actually, baseball tolerates more cheating than almost any other sport. It's pretty much part of the game, from bizarrely shaped outfields designed to benefit a team's star hitter to the venerable spit ball.
Any guesses on who the other posters are?
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