So It Was All Fake?
Say It Ain't Sosa ... Sammy Corked His Bat and His Body
NY Times: Sosa Is Said to Have Tested Positive in 2003
Sports Illustrated Didn't Exactly Cover Themselves in Glory
And Since the HR Race Was a Hoax, He Can Forget the Hall of Fame
Ahhh, 2003, those were the days: "Never before, though, had Sammy made a run like last Saturday's. Never before had Sosa done so with the Cubs in first place this deep into a season—121 games. The last time a Cubs team was in first place this late, back in 1989, Sosa was a skinny 20-year-old kid playing on the South Side with the White Sox. As if that alone wasn't enough to put a little extra spring in his step, Sosa also knows the satisfaction of recovering from the worst three months of his career. Other than getting hit with a helmet-cracking beanball, suffering through a toe injury that kept him up at night in pain, missing as many games as he did in the previous six years combined and being shamed and suspended for using a corked bat, April, May and June were a real hoot. Since returning from that suspension on June 18, Sosa, as of Monday, had knocked in 51 runs in 54 games, batted .301, whacked 22 home runs (the most of any player over that period) and, as far as the fallout of his public disgrace goes, generally put a cork in it." -- Aug. 25, 2003, Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated... the year Sosa reportedly tested positive
