by Matt Wells
I write this article in anticipation of the retirement of Sammy Sosa, whether it’s within a week or whether he plays one or two more seasons. Sosa’s career has been well documented – from his start in Texas up to his decision not to sign with the Washington Nationals today (February 15, 2006).
There is no doubt that Sammy Sosa has had a long, successful career. Up to this point, he has 588 career homeruns, and up until a few years ago, he struck fear into the hearts of every opposing pitcher. This was someone who could hit the ball out of the park in a heartbeat.
There have been peaks in Sosa’s career, and with those peaks come gloomy areas of disappointment. So, let’s take a trip to the past and look at the rise, and subsequent fall, of Sammy Sosa.
THE RISE OF SAMMY SOSA
In 1989, at the age of 21 years old, Sosa signed with the Texas Rangers, where he would hit 1 homerun in 84 at-bats. He would be traded to the Chicago White Sox along with Wilson Alvarez that would bring Harold Baines to the Rangers.
While in a White Sox uniform, Sosa would blast 28 homeruns in 2+ seasons. He would bat .203 in 1991, perhaps allowing the White Sox to decide that they’d be better off without him. He would be traded to the Cubs before the start of the 1992 season.
Sosa’s first season in the north side of Chicago would be dismal, but from his second season with the Cubs up until 2004, Sosa’s Cub career would be golden. The player who looked like he didn’t belong in the majors would go on to be one of the greatest homerun hitters of all time.
In 1993, Sosa would truly begin his homerun quest by hitting 33 homeruns and driving 93 runs for the Cubbies. He would hit 25 dingers in the strike-shortened season of 1994. Who knows, without the strike, Sosa could have reached 40 homers. In 1995, Sosa would join the 30-30 club, by hitting 36 homers and steal 34 bases.
Now, I’ll fast forward to the historic 1998 season. Sosa and running mate Mark McGwire would take the world by storm as they would blast balls out of the park day in and day out. McGwire would be ahead 50-48 in homeruns one day, and then Sosa would pass McGwire a week later. The two captivated the entire country, baseball fans and non-baseball fans alike. Sosa would finish with 66 homeruns in 1998, 4 short of McGwire’s then-record 70.
Sosa would hit 60 homeruns in a season 2 more times, once in 1999 and once in 2001. He was as popular as McGwire and he was seen as one of the players who brought baseball back from the drudges of the 1994 strike. Sosa, along with McGwire, had “saved baseball.”
But, no one stays on top of the world forever.
THE FALL OF SAMMY SOSA
As Sosa was swinging for the fences in the years following the historic 1998 campaign, suspicions began to arise. Whispers were going around that steroids may have been involved in the homerun chase of ’98 and steroids may have been used by Sosa, and other players, as far back as the early ’90s. Sosa’s name was in the wind, but there was no proof that he took steroids. I’ll get to more of that in a bit.
On June 3, 2003, Sosa and the Cubs were hosting an interleague game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sammy Sosa stepped up to bat in the first inning, saw a pitch he liked, and swung away. As the bat made contact with the ball, Sosa’s bat broke and splinters of it were spread around the infield. Umpires would gather around to look at the bat and it would soon be determined that Sosa’s bat was corked.
Sosa claimed it was an honest mistake. “I use that bat for batting practice,” he said. “It’s something that I take the blame for. It’s a mistake, I know that. I feel sorry.” Sosa’s credibility would take a huge hit and aroused suspicions. Was his bat corked when he took the world by storm in 1998? What about in previous years? The clouds around Sosa began to loom. Sosa would be suspended for 8 games three days later on June 6.
Sosa would injure his back on a sneeze (yes, a sneeze) in San Diego in May 2004. Though he would be able to play again that season, Sosa suffered through a miserable slump. He would finish with 35 homeruns, a far cry from the 60 homer days.
If Sosa had took the injury in good stride and been dedicated to the Chicago Cubs, all would still be happy in ChiTown to this day. But it all ended ominously for Sosa and the Cubs after 2004.
Going into the last game of that season, the Cubs had lost seven of eight games to fall out of contention for a playoff berth. Sosa had already been told that he would not be in the starting lineup for that game, and arrived at Wrigley Field only an hour before game time; this was a violation of team rules. He then left Wrigley without permission during the game, claiming to reporters afterwards that he left in the seventh inning. However, a surveillance video proved that Sosa had left the stadium 15 minutes after the game started. Several days later, the Cubs fined him one game’s pay.
Sosa’s deserted teammates decided to take their frustrations out on Sosa’s boombox, a clubhouse distraction for years. For years, Sosa would blast music on the boombox without turning it down, even when he was requested to. Sources say that catcher Michael Barrett would smash the boombox with a baseball bat. Sosa’s Cub career would be finished.
As Sosa’s Cub career winded down and people were asking whether Sosa corked is bat frequently or whether he was taking steroids to increase his homerun totals, the steroid scandal went to Washington. I’ll spare you most of the details, but I remember one Sammy Sosa that sticks out in my mind: Sammy Sosa pretending NOT to speak English when asked whether he took steroids.
We had all heard Sammy Sosa speak pretty good English over the years, especially when he was interviewed along with McGwire in 1998 and the subsequent years after. All of a sudden, Sosa doesn’t understand English? A magic act! Sosa’s partial inability to answer the simple question (along with McGwire’s inability) made certain that Sosa’s career was on the downhill.
In 2005, Sosa would be traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Jerry Hairston, Jr. and two minor league prospects. Sosa would slump all season, even batting seventh in the order under ex-manager Lee Mazzilli. The bat of Sosa seemed to disappear. Nagged by slumps and injuries, Sosa would bat just .221 and hit just 14 homers in what would turn out to be his only season in Baltimore.
To put a twist on things, Sosa would play alongside Rafael Palmiero who (wouldn’t you know it?!) tested positive for steroids midway through the season. Like Sosa and his corked bat, Palmiero would deny the whole thing – an eerie similarity of Sosa’s denial of the corked bat and the steroid scandal.
On February 15, 2006, Sosa would tell the Washington Nationals thanks, but no thanks, on a one year deal that would have Sosa playing in the nation’s capital – a place where the steroid scandal dented his credibility. It is unknown whether Sosa will play in the upcoming World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic.
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Now, Sosa may be able to work a deal with another major league team; I am by no means saying that his career is finished. This article is written foreshadowing the retirement of Sosa, whether it’s now or two years from now.
Being just a 21-year old college student, I remember 1998 season where Sosa and McGwire swept everyone off their feet. I remember seeing (on TV) Sosa and McGwire hug in St. Louis when McGwire hit his 62nd homerun of 1998. It was magical. It was divine. It was a baseball fan’s dream…unless you were a member of the Maris family.
Sammy Sosa had it all. Popularity. Power. Fans upon fans upon fans. Cubs jerseys with the number “21” on the back were seen everywhere. People wanted to BE Sammy Sosa.
Now, nobody even WANTS Sammy Sosa. It’s sad in a way. You wish to never see anyone go out like Sosa is (or will, eventually). You wish the best for players that captured the baseball world by storm. You wish they could be productive in their final seasons and retire with their heads held high (think Ripken, Gwynn, etc.).
Sammy Sosa will retire into the sunset with his name in the record books – 588 career homeruns (unless he plays more), three 60-homer seasons, two 30-30 seasons.
But, when someone says the name Sammy Sosa in the future, it won’t be homeruns and good times. It will be corked bat. It will be steroids. It will be one bad season in Baltimore. It will be a memory of the BAD things Sosa did, not the good.
It will be…..sad.
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SOURCES:
Wikipedia: Sammy Sosa
Sportsline bio
SI: Sosa ejected
Latino Legengs: Sosa
