Controversy erupted during the first inning of an otherwise normal summer meeting between the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Devil Rays when, during the first inning of the game, Sammy Sosa’s bat broke and umpires found cork inside. The Sammy Sosa bat was quickly picked up as evidence and Sosa was removed from the game. The question for fans everywhere was how prevalent were corked bats in the rest of Sammy Sosa’s life?

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Corking a bat is not allowed in baseball because with a lighter bat it is thought that it makes the swing easier for the batter. “Corking” or putting any other material in the bat is accomplished by drilling into the thick end of a bat and putting a lighter foreign substance in the bat. Tests have shown that though it may be easier to hit the ball, it is also more difficult to make the ball travel as far. In any case, it is strictly forbidden in the game of baseball and those caught are seen as cheats.

Sosa found himself joining only five other players that have been caught with corked bats while in the major leagues since 1970. Sosa immediately apologized and explained that it was an accident–this was a bat he used frequently during batting practice to give the spectators more of a show. The league responded by suspending Sosa for eight games, which was reduced to seven games after an appeal.

Immediately, Sosa, his peers and his fans were worried about the mark that the Sammy Sosa corked bat would leave on his legacy. Sosa repeated his pleas for apology: this was only his practice bat, an honest mistake. For a career that had most likely produced enough highlights to send him into the Hall of Fame this was a disastrous turn. If any more bats were found tainted, all of his 500 plus home runs would be questioned and the memory of the 1998 season-long home run slugfest with Mark McGwire, a saving grace for baseball at the time, would be ruined.

Fortunately, the Sammy Sosa cork bat turned out to be the only one he owned. The league immediately confiscated all 76 other bats from Sosa’s personal stash and tested them for corking. Not one, including 5 bats they recalled from the Hall of Fame, was found to have cork or any other foreign material inside. Though he was back on the field quickly enough, his career in Chicago, where he had played since 1992, never really recovered. He suffered a freak back accident while sneezing he next season and was traded to the Orioles for the final two years of his contract.

Now that he has retired, the lone question of legacy remains. No one knows ultimately whether the corked bat will derail Sammy Sosa’s life drive towards the Hall of Fame. Whispers of possible cheating having kept others players out of the Hall of Fame. The most relevant example is Sosa’s foil McGwire who, despite his great power hitting and records, has not been nominated into the Hall because of suspicion that he used steroids.