In baseball, a corked bat is a specially modified baseball bat that has been filled with corkor similar light, less dense substances to make the bat lighter withoutlosing much power. A lighter bat gives a hitter a quicker swing and mayimprove the hitter's timing. However, since the bat is lighter, theball does not necessarily travel as far as with a heavier bat, butusually only by a few feet at most. In Major League Baseball, modifying a bat with foreign substances and using it in play is illegal and subject to ejection and further punishment.
To modify a wooden bat to a corked bat, a hole approximately1/2-inch in diameter is drilled down through the thick end of the batroughly six inches deep. Crushed cork, bouncy ball,sawdust, or other similar material is compacted into the hole and theend is typically patched up with glue and sawdust. Placing cork beyondroughly six inches into the bat threatens the bat's structuralintegrity and makes it more susceptible to breakage. Corked batsbreaking while in play during games is the most typical way that theiruse is discovered.
Using a corked bat in Major League Baseball is in violation of Rule 6.06 (d), which reads in full:[1]
A batter is out for illegal action whend) He uses or attempts to use a bat that, in the umpire's judgment,has been altered or tampered with in such a way to improve the distancefactor or cause an unusual reaction on the baseball. This includes,bats that are filled, flat su**ced, nailed, hollowed, grooved orcovered with a substance such as paraffin, wax, etc. No advancement onthe bases will be allowed and any out or outs made during a play shallstand. In addition to being called out, the player shall be ejectedfrom the game and may be subject to additional penalties as determinedby his League Punishment advisor.