BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJORS : Bat Taken From Belle Might Have Been Replaced

Major league security personnel Saturday investigated an apparent break-in in the umpires’ locker room at Comiskey Park in Chicago--one that might have involved a bat confiscated from slugger Albert Belle of the Cleveland Indians.

Umpire crew chief Dave Phillips said the bat, confiscated at White Sox Manager Gene Lamont’s request on Friday night so it could be checked for cork, was apparently switched and replaced with another bat.

“There was a bat left, but in my opinion, it was not the bat we confiscated,” said Phillips. He said the bat taken from Belle was cleaner and shinier than the one found later in the lockerroom.

Lamont said after Saturday night’s game that if someone did break into the umpire’s dressing room, there must have been something wrong with the bat.

“I didn’t know if Albert Belle was corking his bat,” Lamont said, “but now I know he is.”

Belle, who is hitting .350 with 26 home runs and 78 runs batted in, was 0 for 4 Saturday night with two strikeouts. He homered in Cleveland’s 6-3 loss Thursday night, but is one for eight with four strikeouts since his bat was taken.

Entry to the umpire’s locker room apparently was gained through ceiling tiles sometime during the sixth or seventh inning Friday night, Phillips said. The door was locked.