In the Chicago Cubs 138-year history the franchise has retired five numbers in honor of six players (not including Jackie Robinson’s #42). All six players, Ron Santo #10, Ernie Banks #14, Ryne Sandberg #23 Billy Williams #26, Fergie Jenkins #31 and Greg Maddux #31, had illustrious careers on the north side that landed them in Cooperstown and are remembered as some of the greatest Cubs of all time. But one name is missing. Sammy Sosa spent 13 years with the Cubs and currently sits atop many of the franchise’s offensive leaderboards but his #21 has yet to be retired at Wrigley Field. The case against Sosa is built around his steroid use and abrupt departure from the team following the 2004 season, but isn’t it time that we bury the hatchet? Player .ave .obp .slg HR RBI MVP’s Banks .274 .330 .500 512 1636 2 Sandberg .285 .344 .452 282 1061 1 Santo .277 .362 .464 342 1331 0 Williams .290 .361 .492 425 1475 0 Sosa .273 .344 .534 609 1667 1 Not only is Sammy Sosas #21 not retired but its still in use as Junior Lake has had possession of the number for the past two seasons. Sosa, who currently sits at 8th on MLB’s all-time home runs list, had one of the most statistically significant careers in the history of the Chicago Cubs and, honestly, was one of baseball’s most beloved players before the Mitchell Report and the 2004 season. People tend to forget about Sosa’s impact on baseball during the late 90’s and early 2000’s, and all of his charity work in the Dominican Republic; the public perception of Sosa now is that he is a liar and a cheat but in reality he was great human being for most of his career. Maybe Sammy Sosa does need to earn back the respect and trust of Cubs’ Nation, that’s fair, but right now he’s not even getting the chance. Sosa was one of the notable individuals not invited to the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field this past summer, despite displaying a willingness to return. It’s a shame the Chicago Cubs are trying to forget about one of the most exciting players in their history (regardless of steroid use) and hopefully the two sides can make amends one day. Perhaps when enough time has passed and the taboo of steroid use has worn off Cubs fans will be able to celebrate the man and the player that Sammy Sosa was for the majority of his career Si vemos las estadísticas de Sammy, no tiene porque no estar en el salón de la fama... Nunca se confirmó que uso sustancias prohibidas. Una pregunta? Todo el que uso sustancias prohibidas tienen los números de Sammy ? La respuesta es no !!!!! Dentro y fuera del terreno una estrella!!!!!
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 07:03:32 +0000