The Cubs Off-Season Report - The Rise and Fall of Sammy Sosa

By Neil on February 9, 2006 12 Vote 0 Votes

Sammy Sosa Contemplating Retirement

Slammin' Sammy....The Dominican Daddy or just plain Sammy was some of the many names the Cubs Faithful called Sammy Sosa for the 13 seasons he patrolled right field at the Friendly Confines. While he departed Chicago on the worst of terms, he owned the town and much of Major League Baseball since 1998. After his departure from the Cubs before last season, his numbers declined and the once great Sammy Sosa is having trouble finding a job for the upcoming season and is contemplating retirement according to a report from ESPN.com.

Sosa is one year removed from a 35 home run season and is only 12 away from 600 career home runs. The Washington Nationals are the only team showing interest in Sosa and they are only offering a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training and according to an article in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday night, Sosa signing with the Nationals could benefit the Cubs. But how did this happen to Sammy Sosa?

The Tribune article mentions that if Sosa could play well enough to make the Nationals out of Spring Training then the Cubs might be able to acquire either Alfonso Soriano or Jose Vidro. With Sosa taking an outfield spot, which would force the Nationals to move Soriano to the infield or trade him. The Trib thinks it would make more sense for the Nationals to trade Soriano because of his price tag. Soriano is schedule to go to arbitration today and could make $10 - $12 million this season. The Nationals would want a front line pitcher, but the might be willing to take less. The Cubs are interested in finding a new second baseman and have been interested in Soriano for years, we have all heard the rumors, and the Trib article reiterated the same. So could Sammy help the Cubs one more time?

SAM-MY! SAM-MY! We all cheered that no matter if it was Wrigley Field or Riverfront Park....and if you say you didn't....well.... Sosa has become as much a part of Cubs history as Ryne Sandberg, Ernie Banks, Harry Caray or Ron Santo. He was the face of the Cubs, he was Chicago, he was Slammin' Sammy. We all watched his race against Mark McGuire, hoping the Cubs would at least beat the Cardinals to history and immortality. He came in second, but we still cheered and for 5 glorious seasons, number 21 was on the backs of our kids, friends and neighbors. I defended him after the corked bat and hoped he could lead the Cubs to the World Series in 2003. After all it was Slammin' Sammy....

Apparently he could not lead and on the last day of one of the most disappointing seasons in Cubs history, he walked out on HIS team, he wore the C, he was the Captain. When he walked out, I lost all respect for him. A leader does not abandon his team, whether it is a baseball team or your office team. A leader takes charge and stays with the ship....through rough or smooth waters. But not Sosa, he left his team in a time of need and the Cubs paid for him last season, both financially and emotionally. Now the same people Sammy met on the way up, he is asking for a job on the way down.

I guess Slammin' Sammy, did become Selfish Sammy after all....

Neil

Hey Joe...I think you just asked a touchy question. With the Cubs only having retired 4 numbers, I do not know the answer. With Maddux and Fergie Jenkins wearing the same number, how are they going to handle that one. I think that would be the next number in line. It took them 30 years to retire Santo's number, while Ryno's took less time it was still 8 years and a Hall of Fame induction. There are a lot of wounds that must heal in Chicago first and I think a lot has to do with the Hall of Fame. Joe do you think he is a first ballot Hall of Famer?

Joe in Paducah

Well, it now looks like Sammy is retired.

I can relate to many of the negative comments about Sammy I've seen here and elsewhere, and I admiot that I too have been down on Sammy for the past couple of years, but, as a life time Cubs fan I must admit that during the 90's Sammy was my favorite Cub and Sammy was the "face" of the Cubs for many years whether many fans now want to admit it or not.

It brings up the question:

Should Sammy's number 21 be retired by the Cubs along with Ernie, Billy Ronny and Ryno, and be displayed on the foul poles??

I say yes!!

What's everyone's opinion?

Jason B. from AZ

Steve,

Why don't you tell us how you really feel...wow!

I wonder what ol' Sammy will do in his retirement?

Do they have bocce ball in the Dominican Republic?

Jarts?

Shuffleboard?

Actually, now that I think about it...if you really try to get inside the mind and personality of someone with a large ego, who previously thrived on competition, then I see Sammy doing 2 things with his time:

1. Constantly doing Google searches on "Sammy" "Slammin Sammy" and "Sosa" to see how many people are writing about him

2. Playing "Risk" and "Hearts" against others online to feed his competitive spirit...oddly enough he keeps using "didnotcork" as his username.

g'bye Sammy, and thanks for the memories

Steve

Sosa is a selfish bum! The guy was/is a MAJOR liability in RF and one of the worst clutch hitter in baseball. Being a Cubs fan I, of course, would cheer when he hit his homers. I was however cheering that the Cubs had just gotten a run, not because Sammy hit it. I intentionally said run, as in one run, because the only time Sosa ever hit homers was when nobody was on base and we were winning or losing by a large margin. If Sammy hits 60 homers, 56 of them didn't matter. The guy's the absolut worst. Good Riddance. That self centered egomaniac deserves all of the humiliation he gets.

Neil

Hey Greg...Rob Dibble and Kevin Kennedy talked about Sosa all afternoon. They cannot believe he is doing this over $500,000. XM has been saying Sammy is taking the offer as 'an insult' and the Nationals have given Sammy until Saturday to make up his mind.

Also, did anyone hear the White Sox at the White House today?

Greg

According to a source that talked to espndesportes.com, Sammy feels the lack of interest in his services is humiliating and doesn't want to be humiliated any more.

Greg

Yes, and they had it also at TSN.com

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=60417

The TribCo often reads reports by fans in the forum there and reports it as fact. I recently read an article from the Dominican paper Listen Diario where they were rumering Sammy going to the Pirates. Even had the signing as imminent. I posted the link and commented on the rumor, and the next day a TribCo reporter had the article in Chicagosports.com stating he was close to signing with the Pirates and quoting the Dominican paper without even giving me credit for finding the article.

I find you will find more truth from other newspapers other than the one that owns the Cubs.

Neil

Greg, I do not see that in the article. XM reported yesterday of the Minor League contract and today they are reporting the Major League contract, but that article was from Wednesday. Thanks for the catch.

Greg

Actually Sammy has been offered a major league contract that is incentive laden. The Nats took back their minor league offer and upped it. You mis-read the Trib article.

mike

Jason , I agree I like your line better. You knew exactly what I was talking about .

Jason B. from AZ

Hi Mike,

I agree somewhat, but I would have written your last line this way:

I truly believe he did it for the adoration of the fans.

Sounds a bit like the same thing, but the reality is that Sammy wanted/demanded the spotlight and attention from the fans and the media. His ego craved it...so he did it from a somewhat selfish point of view.

I don't know if he did his homerun hop more out of concern for little Cubs fan Johnny, as much as he did it for the fame and glory it brought him.

I am willing to cut him some slack, and say that it was a little bit of both. Right now Sammy isn't regarded highly in Chicago...but give it 10-15 years, and when Sosa is barely 50, he may enjoy a renaissance of popularity and appreciation by nostalgic Cubs fans...we will see.

Maybe Jacque Jones will hit 60 HRs in 3 out of the next 4 years, making us all forget about Sosa! (just kidding)

mike

Sammy gave me some of the best Cubs moments ever.Would you trade them for anything else ? OTHER THAN A WORLD SERIES ? I Would not, he brought baseball back. He made everyone watch , no matter what he did wrong I trully believe he did it for the fans.