SUPPLIES
- Wooden baseball bat
- Drill
- Crushed cork or similar material
- Saw
- Sawdust
- Wood glue
- Pine tar or paint
Overview
Long before steroids and performance-enhancing drugs came on the scene in professional baseball, corking bats was one of the preferred cheating methods of Major League Baseball players. Corking a baseball bat involved hollowing out a portion of the solid wood barrel of a bat and replacing it with cork. This is believed, though not scientifically proven, to add distance to batted balls. However it is against the rules of Major League Baseball and every other amateur and professional baseball league.
Step 1
Take a wooden baseball bat and use a drill to cut a hole in the bat's barrel (the thick part of the bat). The hole should be about 6 to 8 inches deep, depending on the size of the bat, and no more than 1-inch in diameter. For most baseball bats, which are about 30 to 34 inches in length, a hole 6 inches deep and 1/2-inch in diameter is sufficient. When you cut the hole be sure to save the sawdust.
Step 2
Next fill the newly created hole with crushed cork or a similar material, such as sawdust or any light material. As you fill the hole, you should use something, such as the knob end of a screwdriver for example, to pack the cork in the hole as you fill. Continue to fill and pack the hole with cork leaving about a 1/2-inch from the top of the hole.
Step 3
Use the saw to cut off the top of the piece of wood that you cut out from the bat's barrel. This piece will essentially become a cap for the corked bat. Place the cap firmly in the hole and put sawdust around it before gluing the cap in place. Once the glue is dried place more sawdust around the cap to cover up the glue.
Step 4
Smear pine tar on the bat's barrel or paint the entire bat to hide the cap. Once the pine tar or paint is dried, the bat can be used, although because its core has been hollowed out, a corked bat is more prone to breaking.
TIPS AND WARNINGS
- WARNING : A corked bat is against the rules of all baseball leagues. Since 1980, a total of five Major League Baseball players have been suspended a total of 39 games for using corked bats.
Because they are more prone to breaking, a corked bat is usually discovered when it breaks. In the past, corked bats have shattered when a ball is hit over its sweet spot. This is in contrast to how a bat usually breaks when a pitch is hit off its handle.
