CHICAGO — Legendary Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Subject for the primary time in additional than 20 years on Friday earlier than Chicago’s afternoon recreation with the Seattle Mariners.
Sosa, who is ready to be inducted into the Cubs’ staff Corridor of Fame this yr, arrived on the iconic North Facet ballpark in a black SUV. He was greeted by proprietor Tom Ricketts, who embraced him in a hug as he exited the automobile.
Sosa grew to become the face of the Cubs franchise the place he performed 13 seasons after coming in a commerce from the crosstown White Sox in March 1992. A seven-time All-Star, Sosa hit 545 homers in 1,811 video games with the Cubs and hit a franchise-record 66 in 1998 when he was named the NL’s MVP.
Sosa, now 56, performed his ultimate recreation with the Cubs at Wrigley on Oct. 2, 2004, when he homered and had two hits in an 8-6 loss to Atlanta. Throughout his years with the Cubs, Sosa appeared to bulk up drastically and was a headliner in a technology of baseball’s greatest names linked to performance-enhancing medicine.
The Cubs traded him to Baltimore with money in February 2005 for 3 gamers.
Sosa appeared to acknowledge utilizing performance-enhancing medicine in December when he launched an announcement saying he was sorry for errors, with out specifying them.
“There have been occasions I did no matter I might to get well from accidents in an effort to maintain my energy as much as carry out over 162 video games,” he stated within the assertion. “I by no means broke any legal guidelines. However in hindsight, I made errors and I apologize.”
On Friday morning, Sosa posed for photographs with rising Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong outdoors the staff’s clubhouse and a video confirmed Sosa embracing supervisor Craig Counsell in his workplace earlier than the sport.
“(Sosa) noticed the wind blowing out at present and deliberate this journey round day to be right here,” Counsell joked. “He requested to be within the lineup as a result of the wind’s blowing out.”
The Cubs honored Sosa with a video board tribute after the second inning. Sosa waved and bowed to followers from a set in the course of the presentation.
In Thursday’s 8-7 loss to Milwaukee, Crow-Armstrong went deep to set a brand new staff document for reaching 20 homers and 20-plus stolen stolen bases the quickest, doing it in 73 video games. Sosa had the outdated mark of 96, set in 1994.
Counsell, who confronted Sosa as a participant, saluted the previous slugger for his energy on the plate and lengthy homers, in addition to star energy.
“In all probability one of the best factor, Sammy was a real entertainer,” Counsell stated. “I feel if you’re on this lengthy sufficient, you notice that is a part of this.
“We’re additionally right here to entertain and I feel Sammy was nice at that.”
