Chicago (AFP) – Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs ended a 17-year split on Thursday after the Dominican-born slugger admitted to “mistakes” during his Major League Baseball career. Sosa was on a 2003 list of players who had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during MLB’s steroids scandal era, according to a 2009 New York Times report.
In a 2005 US Congressional hearing, Sosa denied ever taking performance-enhancing drugs through his attorney, but the links to doping tainted his home run achievements in the eyes of many fans. On Thursday, Sosa did not admit to any doping but said in a statement that he made errors pertaining to fitness. “I understand why some players in my era don’t always get the recognition that our stats deserve,” Sosa said. “There were times I did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games. I never broke any laws, but in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize.”
Sosa admitted he hoped the apology would help him reconcile with the Cubs. “I hope that fans, the Cubs and I can all come together again and move forward,” he said in the statement. “We can’t change the past but the future is bright. In my heart, I have always been a Cub and I can’t wait to see Cubs fans again.”
Shortly after his statement was made public, the Cubs invited Sosa to a 2025 off-season fan convention by Cubs executive chairman Tom Ricketts. “We appreciate Sammy releasing his statement and for reaching out. No one played harder or wanted to win more. Nobody’s perfect but we never doubted his passion for the game and the Cubs,” Ricketts said in a statement. “It’s an understatement to say Sammy is a fan favorite. We plan on inviting him to the 2025 Cubs convention and while it’s short notice we hope that he can attend. We’re all ready to move forward together.”
Sosa finished with 609 career homers, ninth on the all-time list, and in 1998 chased the single-season MLB homer record of 61 in 1961 by Roger Maris. Mark McGwire, whose links to steroids also clouded his feats, hit 70 that season while Sosa had 66. Sosa is the only MLB player to hit 60 or more homers in three different seasons, managing the feat in 1998, 1999, and 2001. He led MLB in homers with 50 in 2000 and 49 in 2002. Sosa’s 63 homers in 1999 were two fewer than McGwire and in 2001 his 64 homers trailed the one-season record 73 hit by Barry Bonds, the MLB all-time homer king with 762 whose feats were also clouded by doping accusations.
Sosa spent 12 of his 18 MLB seasons with the Cubs from 1992 through 2004 after starting with Texas in 1989, joining the Chicago White Sox through 2001, playing for Baltimore in 2005 and closing his career with Texas in 2007.
© 2024 AFP
