After being confiscated in the first inning of the Indians-White Sox contest at Comiskey Park, Albert Belle’s bat, suspected of being corked, is placed in umpire Dave Phillips’ locker for further examination. The theft of the questionable piece of lumber, taken and replaced by a burglar who gains access to the umpire’s room by squirming through an overhead crawl space, a thievery Jason Grimsley confesses to five years later, is immediately discovered when pieces of ceiling tile litter the floor, and the name on the ‘clean’ bat now reads, Paul Sorrento.

ByTom

After being confiscated in the first inning of the Indians-White Sox contest at Comiskey Park, Albert Belle’s bat, suspected of being corked, is placed in umpire Dave Phillips’ locker for further examination. The theft of the questionable piece of lumber, taken and replaced by a burglar who gains access to the umpire’s room by squirming through an overhead crawl space, a thievery Jason Grimsley confesses to five years later, is immediately discovered when pieces of ceiling tile litter the floor, and the name on the ‘clean’ bat now reads, Paul Sorrento.

Indians’ Jason Grimsley crawls 100 feet along a ceiling, drops down into the dressing room, and exchanges Belle’s bat for one of Paul Sorrento’s.

Indians’ Jason Grimsley crawls 100 feet along a ceiling, drops down into the dressing room, and exchanges Belle’s bat for one of Paul Sorrento’s.

ByThis Day in Baseball

In the 1st inning at Comiskey Park, Chicago White Sox manager Gene Lamont accuses Cleveland Indians slugger Albert Belle of using a corked bat, and umpire Dave Phillipsconfiscates the bat and stores it in the umps’ dressing room. In a Mission Impossible caper revealed in 1999, the Indians’ Jason Grimsley crawls 100 feet along a ceiling, drops down into the dressing room, and exchanges Belle’s bat for one of Paul Sorrento’s. After the 3 – 2 Indians win, the switch is discovered to the consternation of the umps and the White Sox. The Indians subsequently turn over one of Belle’s bats and Belle is given a 10-day suspension, later reduced to seven games.

In the second game of a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres, the New York Mets’ Bret Saberhagen goes 10 innings, striking out 11, giving up five hits and allowing no runs. Consistent with his record-setting season, he walks none.

ByThis Day in Baseball

In the second game of a doubleheader against the San Diego Padres, the New York Mets’ Bret Saberhagen goes 10 innings, striking out 11, giving up five hits and allowing no runs. Consistent with his record-setting season, he walks none.