i was watching myth busters and they showed that putting cork in a bat actually decreases power. is this true and if so why the hell is it illegal? they said it makes the bat lighter so you can swing it faster but less weight means less power. is there any evidence that corked bats help or is it just assumed?

I too saw that episode of MythBuster, and being the logician that I am began to question the results. First I believe what they did was test the bat speed, and given two bats with identical bat speeds, the lighter one will have less mass (m) and therefore less momentum (p), p = m x v. Now in actuality if the two bats were swung, a person would be able to accelerate the lighter bat to a higher velocity and given the same amount of energy, the decrease in mass would be offset by the increase in velocity. So basically what that means is that how hard you swing is the significant factor in momentum of the bat, not the weight of the bat.
What they tested was the ability of the bat to transfer the energy to the ball, the "pop" if you will, and I dont konw about you but it would seem that a solid bat would have a better transfer than one with a hole in it. As per evidence that it actually helps...why dont you get some friends together and try it yourself and report back to us.

if you remember at the end of that episode adam said that the whole thing is probably just mental. if you believe your bat has "special powers" you'll hit better.

Agree. If you tell an athlete eating scouring pads, invest in them as they will do whatever it takes to get that "edge".

It is illegal cause there are bat regulations and they are making their bats lighter than regulation. some people feel better swinging a lighter bat cause they get their bat through the zone quicker. That helps guys who cant reach the high fastball, or to just foul off a pitch...different bats work fo different people, but you need ot have your bat weight and height be within the regulations...just cause it means less power, doesnt mean less hits or better plater coverage.

The theory was to reduce weight to gain bat speed.

All I remember is the look on Sammy Sosa's face when he got caught red-handed with the Cubs. PRICELESS! LOL

ideally the quicker the bat goes through the zone the better, maybe not necessarily more power, but overall bat speed is key. more bat speed against a flame thrower, the ball will go out faster.
its illegal to put any substance in a bat weather or not it helps the hitter. you can use pine tar on the bat, but you can only use a certain amount, it can't go past the trademark (approx.)
*There are bats that are drilled about and inch deep from the top of the bat, that will also lighten the load.

It's illegal because it's an attempt to cheat. The fact that physics may show that it doesn't work isn't the issue. The players THINK it's cheating. Besides, is it too much to ask that they just use bats without TRYING to cheat? Dang. I know there's all kinds of money involved and all kinds of fame and all, but this is SPORTS. Kids look up to these spoiled millionaires. People want to see honest effort and they pay BILLIONS every year assuming that they'll get it. If some one said at your work, "Hey, here's 5 million for this year. If you make employee of the month, we'll make it 7 million, too," would you keep stealing office supplies?

According to the official rules-
1.10 (a) The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 23/4 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.

If the bat's corked it's not one piece of solid wood. That's why it's illegal.