Mythbusters - Special Baseball edition

I was at my parents house tonight which meant I had 75 channels at my fingertips. I just happened to be surfing and around 7:30 I saw a promo on the Discovery channel for tonights "Mythbusters" episode. I thought I'd tune in at 9pm to watch it. My first question is: I haven't watched cable TV in a long time or the Discovery channel and I'm a huge baseball fan, and the night I decide to watch some TV, they do a Mythbusters special on baseball myths. What are the odds of this happening? If I wouldn't have been at channel 49 when the promo commercial came on, I'd missed it completely. Plus, it's not like I'm a diehard "Mythbuster's" guy. I enjoy it, but I've only seen a few.

Anyway, I was a little confused when they proved the myth about corking a bat. In baseball, it's illegal to cork a bat. Why? According to Mythbusters, it puts the batter at a disadvantage. So, why would MLB say it's illegal? If the batter wants to help the defense, then he's just an idiot. I must be missing something. There must be a reason back in 2003 that Sammy Sosa used a corked bat. If corking the bat doesn't hit the ball farther, then why is it so taboo to cork a wooden bat and why is it illegal? How is it cheating? If it decreases the speed of the ball rebounding off the bat, why is that the pitchers problem?

Second, I was really hoping they would prove the myth about sliding into first base or just running through the bag. Instead they proved the myth that sliding into a base you can't run through is faster than trying to run to a base and coming to a stop on the base. Who was debating that? Of course it will be faster to slide. You have to slow down in order to stop on the bag...or you'll keep going and be called out. Sliding helps keep your speed into the bag.

I understand that if it was faster to slide head first into first base to beat out a throw, then everyone would be doing it. But they're not. Also, track stars would be diving across the finish line instead of running with their chests forward. But still, I feel it needs to be proved because once in awhile you'll see a MLB player dive into first base to beat the throw. So, is it faster or not? Prove that.