This Is Pete Rose's Corked Bat

[Chip R]

The title of the thread reminds me of those Readers Digest articles they had (have). "This is Joe's Stomach."

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Bumstead

That's all I remember...how he played the game.

Wish I could only remember that, but alas, Pete won't let me.

[TheNext44]

Originally Posted by Always Red

LOL- I watched Pete do that maybe 1000 times, leading off games. First thing he would do is wipe out the back of the batters box, usually with his left foot, before taking a few practice swings with his corked bat.

I absolutely loved watching him play the game as well. When I was a child, Pete Rose was my very first hero. When I grew up, I learned that sports figure do not make very good heroes, and looked elsewhere for role models.

Very poignant post.

I too loved Pete growing up, then as an adult I got a chance to work with him at a signing event. That's when I learned how true your last line is.

[icehole3]

Originally Posted by TheNext44

Not to defend guys who cork their bat, but what about batters who wipe out the back line of the batters box? Or pitchers who don't step directly on the rubber? Or pitchers who use their thumbnails to scratch the surface of the ball? Or fielders whose glove isn't regulation?

All of that is cheating. Is that the same as corking your bat, or taking greenies? Or taking steroids?

Just asking with no assumptions.

youre right they are cheating, but will they get you suspended on the spot for a numerous amount of time and its not me that should be convinced it is the baseball writers and league officials and right now I agree with them, either let Pete in or keep all the cheaters and junkies out

[Bumstead]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Wish I could only remember that, but alas, Pete won't let me.

Maybe it helps that I live up near Chicago...I don't pay any attention to him anymore. Of course I have to deal with Cubs fans...talk about annoying... :

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Bumstead

Maybe it helps that I live up near Chicago...I don't pay any attention to him anymore. Of course I have to deal with Cubs fans...talk about annoying... :

I left Cincinnati 4 years after Pete's 1st departure (which damn near killed me) yet everyday I see him somewhere in my home.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by icehole3

youre right they are cheating, but will they get you suspended on the spot for a numerous amount of time and its not me that should be convinced it is the baseball writers and league officials and right now I agree with them, either let Pete in or keep all the cheaters and junkies out

When all the cheaters and junkies start signing balls they sell admitting their guilt then they can keep em out, until then PR will have to sleep in the bed he made so poorly

[icehole3]

Well today Joe Morgan cleared Pete unless you think he's lying as well and you wanna continue tearing down our beloved Big Red Machine

YouTube - Morgan clears Pete Rose.wmv

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by icehole3

Well today Joe Morgan cleared Pete unless you think he's lying as well and you wanna continue tearing down our beloved Big Red Machine

Wah!!!!

They are ruining icehole's cherished memories.

Spoiler: Santa Claus is a scam created by an big eastern syndicate.

[icehole3]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Wah!!!!

They are ruining icehole's cherished memories.

Spoiler: Santa Claus is a scam created by an big eastern syndicate.

Why dont you admit youre a closet Dodger fan, over the years youve never liked the Reds

[pedro]

Originally Posted by icehole3

Why dont you admit youre a closet Dodger fan, over the years youve never liked the Reds

I can say with 100% certainty that you don't know what you are talking about.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by icehole3

Why dont you admit youre a closet Dodger fan, over the years youve never liked the Reds

Why would I be a Dodger fan?

I never lived in LA.

Memories have a price Icehole, Pete sets that price for guys like you who can't separate the man from the game.

http://www.scorecardclassics.com/

[mbgrayson]

Originally Posted by Chip R

I see denial isn't just a river in Egypt.

Well, Perhaps I am in denial, or perhaps I just happen to believe a man is innocent until proven guilty.

To actually PROVE that the bat was corked in 1985, it is absolutly essential that we look and see everywhere the bat has been over the last 25 years. In reality, it is simply impossible to show a real chain of custody for this bat.

The Deadspin article says that Rose himself kept the bat until the "late '80s, as Rose's gambling debts were mounting, he sold off a large collection of his memorabilia, much of which ended up with the Wolter family." We have no idea whether any of Pete's high class associates had access to this bat in the years he kept it.

The next owner was Steve Wolter, who owned the bat for several years. His company, Sports Investments, a Cincinnati-based collectibles store, sold it to an unnamed Wisconsin collector, who kept the bat for some undisclosed time frame, and then sold it back to Sports Investments. They then sold it to the current owner, who had it x-rayed. Did all of these owners keep the bat locked up? Did any of them loan it out for display? How many people actually had access to the bat over the last 25 years? I can tell you that this 'chain of custody' would never be good enough to hold up in court.

In a previous post, I mentioned that the current owner, Bill Schubert, who paid to have the bat x-rayed, has a potential large financial gain since the bat is now thought to have increased in value from $5,000 to at least six figures. So I wonder what do we know about Mr. Schubert? Many of these sports memoribillia guys are a little shady, if you ask me.

Beyond that, did any of Rose's old cronies or gambling associates have a reason to set him up and have his bats corked?

And again, it is interesting to me that cork in a bat actually decreases the bat's effectiveness. From Mythbusters:

A baseball bat filled with cork can hit a baseball farther than a normal bat.

busted
This myth operates under the assumption that cork-filled bats can be swung faster because of their lighter weight, and that the springiness of the cork could propel the ball farther. To eliminate the human factor of the myth, Adam and Jamie constructed a special batting rig and used a pressurized air cannon to launch the baseball at it. Tests showed that the cannon could launch the ball 80 miles per hour, which is the average speed of most MLB pitches. Regulation bats could propel the ball away at 80mph while corked bats could only propel the ball 40mph, half the speed of regulation bats. The reason was because cork bats have less mass to transfer force into the ball, and the cork actually absorbs some of the ball’s impact. The Mythbusters concluded that using a cork filled bat will not improve your performance (it will in fact hurt it), and the major league batters who were caught using cork-filled bats risked their careers for nothing.

Now of course Rose might not have known this, and clearly corking a bat is against MLB rules.

Still, Joe Morgan's statement carries some weight with me. I don't remember any such such defense of Rose by Morgan when the gambling allegations came up. Joe knew that Pete hung with gamblers, and Joe didn't like it.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by mbgrayson

Well, Perhaps I am in denial, or perhaps I just happen to believe a man is innocent until proven guilty.

To actually PROVE that the bat was corked in 1985, it is absolutly essential that we look and see everywhere the bat has been over the last 25 years. In reality, it is simply impossible to show a real chain of custody for this bat.

The Deadspin article says that Rose himself kept the bat until the "late '80s, as Rose's gambling debts were mounting, he sold off a large collection of his memorabilia, much of which ended up with the Wolter family." We have no idea whether any of Pete's high class associates had access to this bat in the years he kept it.

The next owner was Steve Wolter, who owned the bat for several years. His company, Sports Investments, a Cincinnati-based collectibles store, sold it to an unnamed Wisconsin collector, who kept the bat for some undisclosed time frame, and then sold it back to Sports Investments. They then sold it to the current owner, who had it x-rayed. Did all of these owners keep the bat locked up? Did any of them loan it out for display? How many people actually had access to the bat over the last 25 years?

In a previous post, I mentioned that the current owner, Bill Schubert, who paid to have the bat x-rayed, has a potential large financial gain since the bat is now thought to have increased in value from $5,000 to at least six figures. So I wonder what do we know about Mr. Schubert? Many of these sports memoribillia guys are a little shady, if you ask me.

Beyond that, did any of Rose's old cronies or gambling associates have a reason to set him up and have his bats corked?

And again, it is interesting to me that cork in a bat actually decreases the bat's effectiveness. From Mythbusters:



Now of course Rose might not have known this, and clearly corking a bat is against MLB rules.

Still, Joe Morgan's statement carries some weight with me. I don't remember any such such defense of Rose by Morgan when the gambling allegations came up. Joe knew that Pete hung with gamblers, and Joe didn't like it.

Of course. Who would believe Pete Rose would do a dishonest thing?

[mbgrayson]

Originally Posted by Chip R

Of course. Who would believe Pete Rose would do a dishonest thing?

So because he lied about gambling, he is presumed guilty of everything that someone with a $100 K gain at stake accuses him of? Nonsense.