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Using a corked bat in Major League Baseball is in violation of Rule 6.03 (a)(5), which states A batter is out for illegal action when: (5) He uses or attempts to use a bat that, in the umpire's judgment, has been altered or tampered with in such a way to improve the distance factor or cause an unusual reaction on the baseball.
The 1994 Cleveland Indians corked bat incident took place on July 15, 1994, at Comiskey Park in Chicago during a game between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox. In the first inning, White Sox manager Gene Lamont was tipped off that Indians batter Albert Belle was using a corked baseball bat . [ 1 ]
Moreover, even the live television announcers believed the illegal bat had already cracked on a foul ball prior to breaking it on the following pitch, leading them to speculate (after the cork was discovered) that it would have been highly unlikely for Sabo to knowingly risk using an apparently damaged bat if he had known it was also corked.
Measuring the extent of the pine tar against the 17 inches or 43 centimetres width of home plate, they determined that the amount, which covered about 24 inches of the bat, exceeded that allowed by Rule 1.10(c) of the Major League Baseball rule book, which read that "a bat may not be covered by such a substance more than 18 inches [46 cm] from ...
Players who have been suspended for using a corked bat include Sammy Sosa, Albert Belle, Wilton Guerrero, Chris Sabo, Billy Hatcher, José Guillén, and Miguel Olivo. Though Graig Nettles was caught using a bat with Super Balls in 1974, he was not suspended. Amos Otis and Norm Cash admitted to using corked bats during Major League Baseball ...
On July 15, 1994, Albert Belle's bat was confiscated by umpire Dave Phillips. [8] It was the result of White Sox manager Gene Lamont believing that the bat was corked. During the game, Indians pitcher Jason Grimsley removed a ceiling tile in his manager's office and clambered on top of an 18-inch-wide (460 mm) cinder block. [9]
He was the plate umpire for the Sammy Sosa corked bat game on June 3, 2003, when the Chicago Cubs hosted the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Wrigley Field. He wore uniform number 36 after his promotion to the AL, and kept the number when Major League Baseball merged the American and National League umpiring staffs in 2000.
In his first season with Cleveland, he went 3–4 over 10 games, and in 1994, went 5–2 with a 4.57 ERA in 14 games. Grimsley is known for his leading role in the 1994 Bat Burglary involving Albert Belle and an allegedly corked bat that was taken away by umpires for examination by the league