I guess it’s not odd that someone is selling the corked bat that got Sammy Sosa in hot water several years ago. I’m just surprised that it’s former teammate Mike Remlinger. I mean, did Sosa let him have it, or what?
What is it with relief pitchers stealing corked bats? Remember Jason Grimsley and Albert Belle?
Last year Remlinger said he contacted Sosa to ask if the retired slugger wanted the broken barrel. An assistant relayed the message to Sosa, who said he wanted the bat, according to Remlinger. But he never heard back from Sosa’s camp again.
“At that point in time I was just going to give it to Sammy because I figured it was his to do with what he wanted,” Remlinger said. “Then when I didn’t hear back from him I figured it was mine to do with what I wanted.”
Anyway, Remlinger’s story is a good one if for no other reason than he describes a pretty awful cork-job by Sosa. Apparently the bat was drilled from the barrel all the way down past the label. The odds of that thing cracking open were likely not long.
