THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 20, 1994 TAG: 9407200520
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Baseball fans have learned to live with rubber fields, designated hitters, indoor stadiums and juiced balls.
But corked bats?
Today's game of baseball comes to us with less original equipment than Cher.
What can we expect next at the ballpark - silicone implants in the hot dogs?
Because baseball jurisprudence is less stupefying than the kind that pre-empts our afternoon soap operas, Cleveland Indian slugger Albert Belle was found guilty Monday of doctoring his bat and suspended for 10 days.
When American League officials sawed open Belle's baton, they found what appeared to be the remains of a bulletin board.
Baseball had its smoking bat, and we were spared a debate over Belle's Fourth Amendment rights.
Likewise, it was not necessary for baseball to hold a preliminary hearing, at which the prosecution could have called Ernest and Julio Gallo to identify the secret contents of Belle's big stick.
And thanks to baseball's quick action, we should be spared most of the conspiracy theories that crop up around celebrated cases. For instance, there appears to be no truth to the rumor that the incriminating evidence against Belle was planted by a Los Angeles detective.
But now that Belle has been caught using cork, you wonder how prevalent this sort of thing is.
From the look of his final kick in the World Cup, Italy's Roberto Baggio might have been using a corked shoe. Have the FIFA people bothered to cut open Baggio's right boot for a quick check? Maybe they should.
Meanwhile, Baggio's ball is still rising, as are baseball's ERAs.
Monday, the Houston Astros fell behind, 11-0, to the St. Louis Cardinals before winning, 15-12.
And all this time, we thought it was the NFL that had added the two-point conversion.
Pitiful pitching and juiced balls are the prime suspects in this crime against baseball. But even before the Belle affair, suspicious minds wondered if corked bats had at least something to do with the increase in power around the major leagues.
Since baseball's rules, not to mention traditions, discourage the thorough examination of bats, how do we know that half the league's hitters - the better half - aren't enjoying a corking good time?
We don't. This puts us in the uncomfortable position of having to trust in the players' integrity, never a good idea in a sport that brought us the spitball.
Baseball is known for being tolerant of some rule breaking, as long as it takes place on the field. Which explains why grease-baller Gaylord Perry is in the Hall of Fame and Pete Rose isn't.
Still, who would believe anything the Indians say or do after a member of the Cleveland traveling party came through the ceiling to lift Belle's bat from the umpires' room?
When dishonesty is followed by larceny, the offending team deserves our mistrust.
Compounding this infantile behavior are the comments of Belle apologists who say that corking is a common practice.
That's a fine defense as long as the national pastime is cheating.
Adding to this insult to our intelligence is the reaction of Belle's agent, Arn Tellem.
The sawdust from Belle's bat was already on the floor when Tellem expressed outrage at baseball's decision. He argued that his client was innocent and had been set up by ``a well-timed charge concocted by the White Sox in the heat of a pennant race.''
Any day now, Tellem's head will be cut open and examined for cork. by CNB