what is wrong with having a corked bat in baseball?

Question

i understand it's a rule.But does it give the bat power or what advantage is there for the hitter?

Answer 1

It adds "springiness" to the bat and lightens it so the batter can swing faster and the ball "hops" off of the bat at a higher velocity (thus flies further or gets out of the infield faster).

PS: After submitting my answer, I *LOVE* the fact that the 3 answers I see were all from girls!

Answer 2

In professional baseball, the bat must be made from a single solid piece of wood thus the use of corked bats during games is illegal. Still, corked bats have turned up several times in major league play, most recently by Sammy Sosa. A definite advantage to this strategy is that lighter bats allow a quicker response by the batter. But the question of whether or not corked bats truly help hitters is a complex one.
There's more on this at the link below

Answer 3

They mistakenly believe that hollowing out a bat and replacing the wood with cork or rubber will increase bat speed to the point where the ball will travel further. The same principle was used for many years with cricket bats, where wood was scooped from the back to make the bat lighter. These methods are flawed as a solid object will produce more force on a ball than a hollow one, so any marginal increase in bat speed will be offset by a lack of force on impact. Cricket bat makers stopped making scooped bats over a decade ago...I'm surprised that there are still players who use corked bats and risk being caught and subsequently suspended for nothing.

Answer 4

It allows bat speed to be faster. That has two major effects:
--Allows the batter more time to decide whether to start his swing
--Allows the batter to put more energy into the bat (remember F=ma and kinetic energy = 1/2 * mv^2 -- if the batter puts the same force into the bat and the mass is 1% less, then the acceleration (and velocity) of the bat will be 1% more, which means the kinetic energy in the bat will be 1% more: down 1% because of the mass, but up 2% because of the velocity)

Plus, it's dangerous -- a corked bat is much more likely to break, which is dangerous to the infielders.

Answer 5

It makes the bat lighter which allows for greater velocity in the swing.

EDIT: ...and by the way, anyone here saying that it makes the bat "springy" should do some research. Cork doesn't redirect energy, it absorbs it. You're all mixing up the reasons for not using aluminum bats. Corked bats aren't as big of an advantage as they once were and with the thinness of the bats these days, the risk of it breaking from the weaker material and getting caught out weights the advantage.

Answer 6

lemme holla at you for a second.....see when you cork a bat, you take out the wood indside of the barrel, then you put in the cork. THUS making the bat lighter, now with a light bat you have a quicker swing... more bat speed is what i like to call it. With light bat, you generate more bat speed (force) comming to the ball than a heavier bat would, which can be the difference between a mutha f---n HR or a double....put it this way, would you rather get hit by a ball goin 90 mph or a ball goin 75mph? which one would hurt more? the ball goin 90 cuz it has more force commin onto you....if you still dont understand, check out my source....peace out pimpin

Answer 7

Some feel it causes the ball to come off the bat at a higher velocity therefore the ball will travle further. This puts the batter with a corked bat at an advantage.

Answer 8

They hollow out the bat & put cork & sometimes bouncy balls on the inside to make the bat lighter & easier to swing. The bouncy balls would also give more power by creating more spring when the ball hits the bat.

Answer 9

Corking a bat has two advangeges.

1) it makes the bat lighter. A lighter bat allows the batter to have more bat speed
2) It makes the ball travel 4% farther. a ball that would go 100 feet, now goes 104 thanks to the cork.

nothing real big

Answer 10

It makes the bat lighter so the batter can generate greater bat speed. The greater bat speed can help the batter get around quicker on a particularly fast pitcher. Greater bat speed can also make the ball go farther.