corked bats

[Cindy C.]

Lynda wrote:

> I think the idea is that the "springiness" of the bat gives the 
>ball extra distance, which is why it's illegal to use in regulation 
>play.  

They're saying something different in the Washington Post.  They say 
it isn't the springiness, but the decreased weight (an ounce or so) 
that is the alleged advantage of corking a bat.  It's lighter, you 
can swing faster, so you don't have to react to the pitch as 
quickly.  The trade-off, they said, is that the ball will cover less 
distance when struck (by something like three feet).  And the risk is 
that the bat is more likely to break, causing you to be busted right 
out on national TV.  ;-)  That suggests to me, as someone who has 
never taken a physics course, that the springiness works against 
distance.

Any physics folks out there care to check my answer?  ;-)

>Can you imagine someone OWNING 70+ bats???  


What an interesting thought.  I wonder how many pieces of equipment a 
professional athlete needs to own.

I know that Tonya Harding travels with just the *one* skate lace!  ;-)

Tennis players appear to take the court with maybe five racquets for 
a match, but they probably own more.  Sampras and Agassi were, at one 
point, the only pro players to travel with their own personal racquet 
stringers, or so I heard.

How many skates do skaters need, I wonder?  How many helmets do pro 
American football players have?  Does anyone care about this sort of 
trivial trivia but me?

Cindy -- who would *love* to rifle through Michelle Kwan's collection 
of skating costumes, and who would promise not to try to wedge 
herself into any of them